How BYD beat Tesla

Summary of How BYD beat Tesla

by The Verge

1h 18m•January 20, 2026
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Overview of How BYD beat Tesla

This episode of The Verge Cast (host David Pierce) covers two main topics: a rapid-fire AI news roundup with Hayden Field—using their “Big Deal / Medium Deal / Small Deal” game to evaluate recent announcements—and a deep-dive explainer on BYD with Andy Hawkins, explaining how the Chinese automaker overtook Tesla as the world’s best‑selling EV maker. The show closes with a listener hotline about whether repurposed iPhones are acceptable kid devices vs. iPads.

AI news roundup (with Hayden Field)

Hayden and David run through recent AI developments and give each a verdict plus the core implications.

  • Claude Code / Cowork (Anthropic)

    • Verdict: Cowork — small/medium; Claude Code more broadly — big deal.
    • Takeaway: Anthropic’s product focus (Claude + Claude Code) is resonating; “Cowork” is mainly a UI wrapper that broadens access, while Claude’s momentum indicates growing brand loyalty.

  • Mike Krieger joining Anthropic labs

    • Verdict: Medium deal.
    • Takeaway: Signals Anthropic is investing in experimental product teams; risk of moving too fast could erode its “responsible” reputation.

  • ChatGPT Health (OpenAI) and similar health pushes

    • Verdict: Big deal (and concerning).
    • Takeaway: High stakes around privacy, accuracy, and mental-health risks. Naming the product “Health” normalizes clinical use despite repeated disclaimers (not for diagnosis/treatment). Skepticism about the adequacy of safeguards.

  • “Buy button” monetization (Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini)

    • Verdict: Big deal.
    • Takeaway: Integrated purchasing changes ecommerce economics (affiliate revenue flows to AI platforms). Will push UI evolution from text chat to richer, shopping-friendly visuals and workflows.

  • Grok deep‑fake imagery scandal on X

    • Verdict: Very big deal.
    • Takeaway: Public, interactive deepfakes — including minors — revealed major safety failures. The scandal provoked regulatory and country-level responses; shows political pressure can force platform changes.

  • Gmail AI inbox features

    • Verdict: Medium deal (big for heavy email users).
    • Takeaway: Gmail AI could materially improve email triage and productivity for people drowning in messages, though email’s overall cultural importance is shrinking.

Cross-cutting themes:

  • Intense product churn and FOMO across AI companies (OpenAI throws many products at the wall; Anthropic more deliberate but faces similar pressures).
  • Monetization pressure will increasingly shape features (ads, buy buttons).
  • Privacy, safety, and regulatory response are central fault lines (health data, deepfakes, national software/security concerns).
  • UI and modality shifts: shopping and rich visual interfaces will push chatbots beyond pure text.

BYD explained (with Andy Hawkins)

Why BYD (Build Your Dreams) rose to surpass Tesla in EV sales, how it operates, and what it means globally.

  • Origins and timeline

    • Founded in the 1990s as a battery supplier for phones; pivoted to cars in the early 2000s.
    • Warren Buffett invested (~2008), accelerating growth.
    • First EV (E6) in 2010; major design push around 2016 (hired Wolfgang Egger).

  • Key advantages

    • Vertical integration and battery expertise (started as battery maker).
    • Cost advantage from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry and in-house scale — lower battery costs per vehicle (~$6k cited) vs. competitors.
    • Broad product strategy: from ultra‑cheap city cars (Seagull / Dolphin Surf) to luxury/performance models (Yangwang U-series).

  • Market execution

    • Aggressive domestic scale in China aided by government industrial policy (subsidies, domestic supply-chain emphasis).
    • Competes across almost every segment (GM-like portfolio): mass-market to premium.
    • Rapid export growth: strong presence in Europe, Brazil, Australia, and other markets.

  • Challenges and limits for U.S. entry

    • Tariffs: high import tariffs (roughly doubling costs) make direct imports economically impractical today — importing a cheap BYD could cost as much as $90k after duties.
    • Regulatory hurdles: NHTSA, EPA safety and environmental certifications; software-origin bans complicate Chinese-sourced vehicle software.
    • Political/trade considerations: U.S. restrictions on Chinese technology and public sentiment create friction.
    • Domestic price wars in China have compressed margins for BYD and others.

  • Outlook

    • BYD is positioned as the de facto Chinese EV flagbearer (symbol of vertical integration and scale).
    • An eventual, meaningful presence in the U.S. is plausible but requires either local manufacturing and software/localization or significant policy changes. Timeline uncertain.

Bottom line: BYD reached its position through battery expertise, vertical integration, breadth of product, and scale — plus benefiting from China’s policy environment. That combination let it offer lower‑priced, competitive EVs at massive volume.

Hotline Q: Repurposed iPhones vs iPads for kids

Listener Rob asked about giving repurposed iPhones (old iPhone X/12) to kids instead of buying an iPad.

  • Short answer: An old iPhone (used as a Wi‑Fi device like an iPod touch) is a perfectly fine (and in many ways preferable) kid device.

    • Advantages: smaller/less immersive screen, easier to hold, easier to travel with, wide accessory ecosystem, more convenient to manage and lock down if dedicated to kids.
    • Cost-effective: repurposes a device you already own.

  • Bigger point: focus on what’s on the screen, not the screen itself.

    • Quality matters more than minutes: slower-paced, longer-form storytelling (classic TV/movies, books, curated educational apps) is less likely to cause overload than rapid-cut, sensory‑intense content.
    • Parental setup: use parental controls, curated apps (YouTube Kids, Disney+ in limited contexts), and consider content moderation and co‑watching.
    • Context matters: screens for car rides or travel are reasonable compromises.

Actionable tips requested:

  • If you repurpose a phone: wipe it, enable parental controls, restrict App Store access, pre-install desired apps, put in a rugged case, and treat it like an iPod touch.

Key takeaways & recommendations

  • AI: Expect an acceleration of product launches, monetization strategies (buy buttons), and UI evolution (multimodal/shopping). Be cautious about uploading sensitive data (health records) and treat new “health” products skeptically until safeguards are transparent.
  • Safety/regulation: Platform abuses (deepfakes) can provoke quick regulatory and political responses — responsible companies won’t be able to ignore those pressures.
  • BYD: Battery-first strategy + vertical integration + broad product lineup = competitive advantage. BYD’s global rise is well‑supported by scale and cost, but U.S. entry faces large economic and regulatory barriers.
  • Parenting tech: Repurposed phones are fine for kids; prioritize content quality, parental controls, and context over obsessing about device form factor.

Notable quotes / moments

  • “Anthropic has found something that works … people are sticking with Claude.” — on brand/product loyalty in AI.
  • On ChatGPT Health: naming a service “Health” normalizes clinical use despite huge privacy and safety questions.
  • On BYD: “Build Your Dreams” — started as a battery company and leveraged vertical integration to scale across price segments.
  • David and Andy’s tongue-in-cheek top‑gear ideas: “David and Andy Top Gear in China” vs. sketchily importing BYD into the U.S.

If you want the short highlights: the AI segment shows a product-and-monetization sprint with major safety and UI implications; the BYD segment explains how battery expertise and China-scale allowed BYD to outcompete Tesla on volume, with U.S. entry still complicated by tariffs and regulation; and the parental takeaway is to prioritize curated content over the device itself.