Listen: Tesla’s Race With China

Tesla might be the most prominent name that comes up when discussing the electric vehicle industry, but that is rapidly changing. According to John Gartner, an analyst at Navigant Research, “The story is not just about Tesla anymore. There’s an ecosystem.” Recent struggles with internal delays, and issues with an outside supplier falling behind, have caused Tesla to scramble to maintain its position at the forefront of the electric vehicle industry. The largest competitor seems to be a large group of Chinese automakers that are producing hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year. Less than 1% all passenger vehicles currently on the road are EV, but that number could increase to approximately 1/3 of all vehicles by 2040. While Elon Musk has assembled top design, engineering, and marketing talent, China has invested in policies and subsidies to strengthen its EV industry. Chinese automakers could produce more than 4.5 million electric vehicles annually in 2020 and one company – GAC Motors is even planning to sell cars in the US as soon as next year.