[jfoster]

I think it continues to be under-appreciated how much of a lead Tesla still has in EVs. Even BMW can't make something that is practical.

First people said "competition is coming" for about a decade. Now the competition has finally half arrived, but it's still so far behind. Perhaps the closest is BYD, but most BYD drivers would prefer to be driving a Tesla.

[alephnerd]

I wouldn't understate BYD, but Tesla did play a massive role in helping build China's domestic EV ecosystem because Tesla also worked on building a supplier ecosystem in China, which also helped incubate much of the Chinese ecosystem.

That said, BYD is outcompeting most other Chinese players as well, and it can be argued that this is due to the fact that BYD is also a private sector player unlike most of it's domestic competitors.

The only competitor in China that can compete against BYD is SAIC - an SOE owned by Shanghai's government.

That said, the EV glut has become a significant headache from a local government fiscal perspective - the majority of Chinese automotive companies are owned by state and local governments - a large number of whom ended up spending eye bleeding amounts of yuan on EVs despite no competitive advantage, and it's these state and local governments that are now increasingly holding the bag - which Chinese market regulators have increasingly raised red flags about [0] (and I myself foreshadowed on HN a couple times [1][2]).

[0] - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/T3V4AWMB2SJX

[1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41275593

[2] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41275541

[dmix]

China is also copying SpaceX's Starship https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/chinas-long-term-lunar...

Which is kind of exciting if you don't care about IP law.

Likewise their CR series/Fuxing high speed trains seem to be quite nice. They were spawned off their experience working on Euro/Japanese trains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuxing_(train)

[cosmic_cheese]

I think Nissan is a bit underrated here. I’m leasing an Ariya which has been great (including its charging curve, which is better than much of the competition) and feels more premium than you’d expect from the brand (to the point that the top trim is sometimes referred to as a “baby Infiniti”) with things like dual pane windows to cut down on road noise, as well as a proper heat pump where many still only have resistive heaters.

The 2026 Leaf takes many of the Ariya’s good qualities and one ups them at one of the lowest price points in the industry.

And both can be parked in spots that no model of Tesla will fit. The 3, Y, etc aren’t even a consideration for me since they won’t fit my garage. Tesla badly needs a proper small hatch option.

[dmix]

> The 2026 Leaf takes many of the Ariya’s good qualities and one ups them at one of the lowest price points in the industry.

Still costs $30k+ USD for base trim. Chinese cars are going for sub-$20k. Few governments want a repeat of the Japanese disruption of US/European car manufacturing, so they were banned before getting the opportunity.

[nicoburns]

Lots of the traditional car manufacturers now have good options: Renault, Nissan, Kia, and Hyundai's EVs seem to be particularly well regarded. I'd definitely opt for any of those over a Tesla given Tesla's reputation with regard to quality and repair costs.

If you ignore cost, then Tesla's cars are probably still better at this point, but the gap doesn't seem that large.

[jillesvangurp]

Even BMW has a few electrical cars that aren't half bad. The main problem is that they are compromise cars that can be sold as ICE, PHEV, or full EV.

That means more complexity, sub optimal design, less efficiency, etc. However, competition is indeed brutal right now. Tesla did something that only some other manufacturers have managed to copy so far: make cars that are EV only from the ground up. Love them or hate them, they don't make any design compromises to allow space for a combustion engine, a generator, or whatever. There's no room for a transmission, a fuel tank, or even an engine compartment. That's where the Frunk goes. The result is a car that's simpler, more efficient, and more optimal for what it does.

BYD did the same. Kia and Hyundai are having a lot of success with their electric only line of cars. And in the EU Renault and the Stellantis group have some decent and competitive low cost models on the market. Tesla's advantage is rapidly evaporating here.

Japanese car makers have been more conflicted on this. But Nissan's collaboration with Renault is giving them access to the right tech to adjust course. And even Toyota is now using a lot of Chinese made drive trains and components to finally offer EVs that are actually not that bad. The danger is of course that "made in Japan" has very limited value in this world if all your core tech is effectively Chinese and European. That's something that might change in the next years of course.

Cost wise, buying a compromise car means having to deal with more that can break, more components that may need replacing, and a lot of increasingly obsolete parts and components that are no longer being modernized. Combustion engine R&D ground to a halt about fifteen years ago. All those fuel injection systems, and other computer intensive hardware that keeps them going is aging fast and not really being invested in a lot at this point. Sourcing replacement parts might get harder and more expensive over time.

[rapsey]

> Tesla's reputation with regard to quality and repair costs.

Tesla lives in the limelight 100x more than any other car brand. Every mistake or possible scandal gets insanely amplified. They are by far the most repairable EV car and have the most durable engines. What they do not tell you is that in an EV the engine giving out is the more common scenario not the battery pack.

[dzhiurgis]

> Hyundai's EVs seem to be particularly well regarded

lol.

you wanna search about kona's gearbox and iccu's beforehand.

i'm not going to get into software.

[stevenally]

"I think it continues to be under-appreciated how much of a lead Tesla still has in EVs".

As long as you don't compare them to BYD etc.

[bdangubic]

as long as you don’t compare them to any car. teslas in 2025 belong in a museum lol

I own tesla s 2014, my neighbour has 2025, same car. tesla x was cool… in 2017. tesla 3 is like a worse looking kia and model y is like if you took tesla 3 and pumped some air in it.

[worik]

> Even BMW can't make something that is practical.

Hyperbole, but essentially true

The Japanese beat everybody when ICE ruled. Their cars were miles ahead on every measure except snob value.

In the the of EV it will be the Chinese. Tesla has no hope of keeping up, they are already fallen behind on snob value, their cars have none now.

I think the comment about BYD drivers preferring Tesla is out of date now. Ti e will tell, but my money is on China

[inferiorhuman]

From what I can tell the Chinese are targeting the bottom of the market with cars that are essentially disposable. The ones to watch, IMO, are Hyundai/Kia. If they can sort out the reliability issues there's a lot of potential there.

Honestly I'm cautiously optimistic about VW, especially after they've started backing away from those awful capacitive buttons.

[torginus]

I have a theory about EVs - they don't allow much engineering range.

To have a broadly usable car, you need at least 50+ kWh battery, 100kWish fast charge, and basically almost everything you need in a big car. If you don't have it your car is not really usable as the main car.

Motors are small and efficient so they are not big cost drivers.

Small cars, such as 'cheap' B-segment cars still need all this stuff. If you look at the weight of something like a Renault 5, you find its not lighter than a Model 3. The manufacturer still pays for all that stuff, but the car's supposed to be cheap so they cant pass on the cost.

But in a small car, you have packaging problems with having to fit the battery pack, meaning you need to build them taller and draggier - that means your highway range decreases, and the big weight means big (and compact) crash structures, which again are more expensive.

In contrast, in a Model 3, you can make the pack thinner, design a more aerodynamic shape, have the big roomy frunk as a crash structure.

Your extra cost ist like tens of centimeters of steel and glass, but customers will happily pay more because its an upmarket car.

You can't really go beyond that, because the acceleration and torque is crazy even at the base level and at high speeds your range will still suck.

This basically means imo that the Model 3 and Y are at the ideal intersection of what the technology's good and bad at, and market positioning.

That's why I don't think Tesla will make a C-segment car.

[bri3d]

My understanding is that Tesla 16V LV batteries have a similar crash lockout in the BMS that also requires workarounds to reset: https://openinverter.org/wiki/Tesla_16v_li-ion_battery

[hnburnsy]

Add to that because Tesla allows for access to its repair manuals and service tools unlike most OEMs.

[cruano]

BYD targets a different market. Tesla should compete with the likes of Polestar, Rivian, maybe Porsche if they dare but I'd take any of those before a Tesla any day of the week.

[rswail]

Seeing the BYD trucks and other BYD vehicles around where I live in Australia, as well as the other Chinese and Korean brands, they outnumber the Teslas on the street now.

[TeeWEE]

The BMW neue klasse is far superior to the latest Teslas.

Both in software hardware and handing.

https://youtu.be/P-H-GJaGiUg?si=eq8YWy8gyJ5YS99X

I think it even surpasses Chinese brands.

[kmlx]

i think they look absolutely horrible both inside and out. but, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[worik]

I think the (negative) point is the cost of ownership. European cars are very cool, if you can afford to keep them running

[nottorp]

Uh have Tesla discovered how to make doors that align with the car body? All 4 of them in the same car?

[Note that this is not a BMW endorsement. I would only drive one if someone else pays for the car, insurance and maintenance.]