Elon Musk Once Laughed At Tesla Competitor, Warren Buffet-Backed BYD — Now, Praises 'Their Cars'

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk, who once laughed at Warren Buffett–backed Chinese EV-maker BYD Company BYDDY BYDDF, has now hailed its cars. 

What Happened: Musk, on Friday, took to Twitter to respond to an old clip posted by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley Club, where the billionaire is seen laughing as the journalist asked him about BYD trying to compete with Tesla. 

In the clip, after a brief laugh, Musk replied, "Have you seen their cars?" and started laughing again. He further responded with a "No" when the journalist asked if he doesn't see them as a competitor "at all."

However, Musk's opinion has drastically changed now. 

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"That was many years ago. Their cars are highly competitive these days," the billionaire wrote in his reply to the tweet.

Why It Matters: Musk's Tesla has faced rising pressure from growing competitors in the EV market, including BYD, in recent years. The recent sales figures showed staggering growth in EV sales, officially making the Chinese EV giant, BYD, the world's second-biggest electric car manufacturer that is rapidly catching up with Tesla. 

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Meanwhile, earlier this week, Ford Motor Co F CEO Jim Farley, responding to a question on whether catching up with Tesla involves Ford growing returns from its EV business or Tesla facing margin pressure, said, "Both are going to happen."

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