Jim Farley says the experience forced him to rethink Ford’s entire electric vehicle strategy.
Farley admitted that the Chinese electric vehicle turned out to be far more advanced than he had expected.
In late 2025, the Ford CEO decided to completely disassemble a Tesla Model 3 and a Chinese-made EV, breaking them down to the last bolt to compare their engineering with Ford’s own electric models. He said he had no idea what he was about to discover.
“When we tore down our first Tesla Model 3, what we found was shocking,” Farley said on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast.
After examining the Model 3, Farley noted that the Tesla had more than half a mile less wiring than the Ford Mustang Mach-E. That difference contributes to the Ford crossover being significantly heavier than many of its competitors.
Farley explained that the additional weight means the Mustang Mach-E requires a larger — and more expensive — battery pack to deliver competitive range.
The surprise didn’t end there. Farley later evaluated a Chinese EV and said it was far more sophisticated than he had anticipated. He pointed out that Ford’s electric vehicles tend to have more complex architectures and substantially more wiring than rival models.
As a result of those findings, Farley said he decided to rethink Ford’s EV development strategy and move forward with the creation of its dedicated Model e division.
Previously, Farley revealed that he spent about six months driving an electric vehicle built by Xiaomi to better understand the competition.
On the Everything Electric Show podcast, he said living with the Xiaomi EV gave him valuable insight into how quickly Chinese automakers are advancing. Farley described the vehicle as “fantastic,” adding that firsthand experience was the best way to evaluate emerging rivals in the rapidly evolving EV market.