News that Tesla was usurped in sales by Chinese automaker BYD to start 2022 comes with a significant wrinkle.
BYD, a firm based in Shenzhen and that has long been backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, sold approximately 638,157 electric or plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles - which breaks down to 323,519 battery electric vehicles and 314,638 plug-in hybrids - in the first six months of 2022, according to Axios.
The outlet reported that makes for a more than 300% year-over-year increase in sales for a company that Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized for “not having a great product” during a Bloomberg News interview back in 2011.