Electric Vehicles 2 China’s Aito, BYD, and Xpeng will be Tesla’s biggest competitors Elon Musk believes that China’s rivals pose the greatest threat.

Tesla CEO Elon Muss said during a conference with industry analysts that China will be the largest competitor to the electric vehicle maker’s electric vehicle. During this meeting, the outspoken CEO was asked about the status of Chinese carmakers regarding their aggressive moves towards electrification and related technologies.

Per Bloomberg, Musk replied that these rivals “work the hardest, and they work the smartest” and are major competitors. He continued, “Probably some company from China is most likely to be second Tesla.” Who are these Chinese automakers, specifically?

The growing list includes Xpeng, Aito, and BYD. China’s largest EV brand, the latter, outsold Tesla last yea, but only if you include its plug-in hybrid sales of pure electric vehicles. BYD had even planned to sell cars in the USA, but it stopped doing so for several reasons.

Tesla has faced recent customer backlash in China, the world’s largest automotive market, over Model 3 and Model Y price cuts. Customers in the US have also voiced their dissatisfaction over this issue. However, Musk believes that China is more competitive than the US. Musk added during the conference call that China is currently the most competitive EV market.

According to the China Passenger Car Association, China sold 5.67 million EVs and plug-ins in 2022. Last year, only 918,464 plugs-ins were sold in the US. Tesla’s reliance on China couldn’t be more evident: it manufactured over 710,000 vehicles at its hardworking Shanghai Gigafactory last year, which translates to about 52% of its global output.

Assuming no major pandemic-related disruptions in 2023, Musk believes Tesla’s global output could hit 2 million vehicles. American automakers, meanwhile, are finally nearing the point of consistent and mass EV production, but it took them several years to catch up.