As Tesla Falters, China's BYD Pulls Ahead With 5-Minute EV Charging

BYD up, Tesla down. That's the market's reaction to BYD's news of 1,000 kilowatt DC fast charging for its new Super e-Platform EVs, which go on sale later this year in China for around just $38,000. With these chargers, those cars should be able to add about 250 miles (400 km) of range in a mere five minutes.

That handily defeats any "I'll never buy an EV until it charges as fast as a gas car can fill up" counter-argument. If this technology can scale—especially in markets beyond China—it's a guaranteed game-changer for EVs everywhere.

And the news actually contributed to Tesla's dropping stock price yesterday. It's obviously been declining for some time—public opinion continues to sour on the brand and Elon Musk's actions in government turn off longtime and prospective Tesla fans. But it also seems to have investors wondering what America's supposed EV tech leader is actually doing. Via Bloomberg:

Delivering this, and quickly, would cement China’s lead in an EV industry that had its breakout moment in the Bay Area when Tesla launched the Model S sedan a little over a decade ago. That Musk felt compelled to stage a bizarre event at the White House last week with President Donald Trump, who is no fan of EVs, apparently buying a Model S to show support says a lot about where innovation can be found these days.

Musk’s politicking damages Tesla’s brand, but the underlying problem is its relatively old line-up of models even as competitors release new ones. While Tesla abandoned plans for a cheap EV, instead launching the Cybertruck priced at six figures, BYD and its competitors churned out an array of models going for less than $30,000.

[...] Tesla’s premium is now justified less by promises of growing EV sales and more by expansive, but elusive, visions of robotaxis and robots. BYD has also clouded that by releasing an advanced driver assistance system across most of its range as standard. Tesla’s, albeit more sophisticated technology, costs thousands of dollars extra for customers.

I'd add that this isn't just a Tesla problem, as columnist Liam Denning alludes to in a dek that I wish I had written myself: "The Chinese EV-maker shocked the world with a fast charger, while the U.S. is still figuring out if EVs are too woke." It's that the entire Western auto industry is far, far behind China's technology, and if our supposed tip-of-the-spear EV company can't keep up, who can?

by Patrick George, Inside EVs |  Read more:

Image: BYD

[ed. See also: Tesla Values Are Tanking Three Times Faster Than Any Other Brand; especially in Canada (IEVs).The stock is down 5% in the last five days, 35% in the last month and 42% so far this year (Axios); and finally, Tesla Is More Vulnerable Than You Think (HTW).]

"The company was losing its novelty and momentum long before he boarded the Trump ship. China is flooding Europe with inexpensive and high-quality electric vehicles, taking Mr. Musk’s original concept and mass-producing a model that the people who build it can actually afford." (NYT)