"Innovative manufacturing gave Tesla an early lead on the global EV market, but now that lead is fading. Carmakers regularly test and tear down other companies' cars. This is a common practice regardless of manufacturerit's why a Xiaomi was spotted at the Ferrari factory, for instanceand Tesla has done its fair share of benchmarking and reverse engineering. According to a former company executive, Tesla tore down Chinese EVs and then applied the lessons to the Model 3 and Model Y, which became global bestsellers."
"John McNeill was the president of Tesla for nearly three years between 2015 and 2018, which is exactly when the company was developing the Model 3, and its larger crossover cousin, the Model Y. He called Tesla a learning sponge and said the biggest lesson learned from Chinese cars was reusing as many components as possible in multiple models. In a new interview with Business Insider, McNeill dished on how Chinese automakers took Tesla's production playbook and ran with it."
"Developing common parts for multiple models is nothing new for Western automakers, but Chinese companies take this to another level, according to McNeill. He went on to say that If you tear down all the BYDssame windshield wiper motor across all of them; same heat pump across all of them; same conduit across all of them," which he deemed super smart because a windshield wiper motor really doesn't change or add to the experience."
Tesla dismantled Chinese electric vehicles to identify cost-saving design and manufacturing practices. The Model 3 and Model Y evolved to share about 75% of parts, enabling aggressive pricing in their segments. Innovative manufacturing initially gave Tesla an early global EV advantage, but that lead has eroded as competitors adopted similar methods. Automakers commonly benchmark and reverse-engineer rivals' cars to copy effective solutions. John McNeill described Tesla as a learning sponge and credited Chinese automakers' discipline in reusing unseen components across models to cut costs. Examples include identical windshield wiper motors, heat pumps, and conduits reused across many BYD models.
Read at insideevs.com
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