China electrified the auto industry [1] [2] [3], not Tesla (mostly BYD). SpaceX is appreciated for proving that reusable vehicles are possible, which other nation states are building [4].
Musk is the management huckster who slaps his name on it, sells it, and reaps the benefits as opposed to the person grinding creating the actual results and innovation. "It is what it is."
This is conveniently forgetting that China used Tesla as a template on how to build out its electric car companies, as it is now using SpaceX as a template to get reusable rockets going...
Actually, there's good evidence that it's the other way around. According to Elon, designing a car factory is 1000X harder than designing a car. According to Elon, the initial model 3 production was a big mess that almost bankrupted the company.
How did they turn this around? By building a car factory in China using local knowledge, then building an duplicate of that factory in Germany, and then building a factory in Texas that incorporated knowledge learned.
BYD sells fewer BEVs than Tesla globally. Their large numbers stem from hybrids. They also grew long after Tesla established EVs as a viable market. You're misinformed.
BYD continues to expand faster than Tesla. If you’re focused on anything other than rate of change, you’ve missed the mark. They intend to be the biggest global automaker in five years, and their trajectory to get there is clear.
Tesla isn’t going away, but it isn’t ever going to be a giant in the industry anymore. Their maximum output is ~2M/units/year, which BYD already easily exceeds while continuing to scale. Is Tesla building any more vehicle assembly lines? They are not.