According to Teslarati, Lei Jun, CEO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, surprised the electric vehicle world by revealing that his company bought three Tesla Model Y crossovers earlier this year to take apart and study.
"We bought three Tesla Model Y for disassembly and research inside Xiaomi earlier this year," Lei said during a keynote, per the social platform X. "What a great vehicle," he added, noting that "if you don't like Xiaomi YU7, you can choose Model Y."
Lei added, per Teslarati: "There is a lot to learn from Model Y."
It's not every day that a competitor publicly praises a rival's car — let alone disassembles it for research. Xiaomi's move signals just how much of a benchmark the Model Y has become in the EV market, setting the bar for build quality, range, and technology.
This is good news for EV buyers. If Xiaomi and other automakers learn from Tesla, they could accelerate improvements across the industry — including better batteries, smarter software, and potentially lower prices.
As EVs become more accessible, the number of drivers switching away from gas-powered cars increases, which helps reduce harmful carbon pollution.
Tesla could use the boost in attention. The automaker delivered 384,122 vehicles globally in the second quarter of 2025, a nearly 13% year-over-year drop. In some European markets, registrations fell for eight consecutive months, with France seeing a 47% drop in August.
For drivers, this competition and falling sales pressure could mean more deals on EVs — and with the right setup, owning one could be even more affordable.
Charging an EV at home typically costs a fraction of public charging, saving drivers hundreds of dollars per year. If homeowners want a Level 2 charger installed, Qmerit offers free, instant installation estimates.
Add solar panels into the mix, and the savings grow even larger — since charging with your own energy beats relying on public stations or the grid. EnergySage makes it easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers and can help you save up to $10,000 on solar installations.
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The sentiment — that competition ultimately helps drivers — was echoed online. Users on X praised Lei's comments, with one writing, "That's pretty good praise from a rival." Another added: "This kind of open acknowledgment is good for the entire industry."
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