Tesla has closely studied Chinese electric vehicles to improve its own manufacturing efficiency, according to former Tesla global sales and marketing president Jon McNeill. In an interview published by Business Insider on November 28, McNeill said Tesla dismantled Chinese EVs during his tenure to learn from their engineering approaches — especially their aggressive reuse of components.

McNeill, who worked at Tesla from 2015 to 2018 and now serves on General Motors' board, said parts reuse became a key lesson for Tesla during the Model 3 "production hell." Tesla CEO Elon Musk later confirmed in 2019 that the Model Y shares about 75% of its components with the Model 3, helping streamline production.

BYD Sets a New Benchmark for Reuse

While McNeill did not specify which Chinese EVs Tesla tore down, he said recent teardowns with GM showed that leading Chinese manufacturers — particularly BYD — have pushed parts reuse far deeper than traditional automakers.

"Chinese engineers are extremely disciplined about reusing parts customers can't see, and they save a lot of money doing so," he said.

Unlike conventional parts sharing, BYD's approach extends to ancillary systems such as battery packs, heat pumps, conduits, and even seat motors."If you tear down all the BYDs — same wiper motor, same heat pump, same conduit across all models," McNeill said."It's a very smart approach because certain components don't affect the customer experience."

He contrasted this with companies like Toyota, which use entirely different components for each model.

Cost Pressure Drives Deeper Integration

McNeill noted that extensive parts reuse is crucial for any automaker trying to scale quickly and reduce costs — especially newer EV makers. He emphasized that Tesla, BYD, and Rivian can do this because they are highly vertically integrated, giving them tighter control over component design and production.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has also acknowledged the efficiency of Chinese EV makers. After tearing down Xiaomi's SU7, he praised its vertically integrated platform but said it offered no fundamentally new insights beyond cost engineering.

China's EV Engineering Leads the Global Shift

As Chinese EV companies refine cost-saving design and manufacturing methods, global automakers — including Tesla — are increasingly learning from them. McNeill said the rise of Chinese EV engineering is reshaping how the industry approaches standardization, efficiency, and scale.