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Vishu Bheda
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šš¬š š¶šš»'š š·ššš šÆš²š®šš¶š»š“ š§š²šš¹š® - š¶š'š šµššŗš¶š¹š¶š®šš¶š»š“ ššµš²šŗ: ā¢ Sold 4 Million EVs in 2024 (Twice that of Tesla) ā¢ Tesla, Ford, and Toyota fight over its batteries ā¢ Warren Buffett invested $232M for a 10% stake How China quietly built BYD into the world's biggest EV empire: šš¹š¼š» š šššø š¢š»š°š² šš®šš“šµš²š± š®š šš¬šāš”š¼š š§šµš²šāšæš² ššæšššµš¶š»š“ š§š²šš¹š® In 2008, Elon Musk laughed at the idea of BYD competing with Tesla. Now, Tesla is slashing prices because BYD is forcing their hand. The man behind this? A chemist you've probably never heard ofāWang Chuanfu. š§šµš² $š®šµ šš¶š¹š¹š¶š¼š» šš²š š§šµš®š ššµš®š»š“š²š± ššš²šæšššµš¶š»š“ In 1995, Wang Chuanfu started BYD as a battery company for Nokia phones. By 2003, with zero car experience, he bought a failing automaker. People laughedāuntil Warren Buffett bet $232M on him. Meanwhile, China had a problem. The country was set to become the worldās largest oil importer. The government saw an opening: skip gas cars entirely and dominate EVs instead. Between 2009-2022, China poured $29 billion into EV development. But money wasnāt enoughāthey needed control. šš¼š ššµš¶š»š® š§š¼š¼šø š¢šš²šæ ššµš² šš© šŖš¼šæš¹š± Batteries make up 40% of an EVās cost, so China took control of the supply chain: 100% of the worldās graphite refining 75% of cobalt refining 60% of lithium refining Even if other countries mine the materials, China refines them. They also gave BYD a massive head startāShenzhen converted 16,000 buses to BYD electric models overnight. Then came the Blade Battery. š§šµš² šš®ššš²šæš š§šµš®š š¦šµš¼š¼šø š§š²šš¹š® In 2020, BYDās Blade Battery passed the "nail penetration test." Other EV batteries exploded. BYDās? Nothing happened. It was cheaper, safer, and faster-charging than anything else. Even Tesla had to buy it. šš¬š šš. š§š²šš¹š®: š§šµš² š”ššŗšÆš²šæš šš®šŗš² BYD doesnāt just make cars. They: ā¢ Mine their own lithium ā¢ Refine their own materials ā¢ Make their own chips ā¢ Build their own batteries The result? A $11,500 EV vs. Teslaās cheapest car at 4x the price. Now, in 2024, BYD overtook Volkswagen as Chinaās #1 car brand. Tesla chased margins. BYD played the volume gameāand won. Follow Vishu Bheda for more valuable startup and business insights.
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