Even though Tesla published all its patents freely for Ford and GM to use, and US automakers already receive government subsidies, no informed investor believes that would make them immediately competitive with Chinese automakers — showing China's edge isn't simply stolen IP or subsidies.
Gurley challenges the narrative that Chinese EV success is due to theft or subsidies by noting that free Tesla IP plus subsidies wouldn't make Ford/GM competitive, implying the real advantage is operational. ✦ AI generated
Bill Gurley · BG2 Pod · 2025-08-28 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 43:30
Elon's published all the Tesla patents. Okay. So, there's free IP for Ford and GM. And I would ask you with that free IP, if we gave Ford and GM subsidies, do you think they'd immediately be competitive with China?... the thing we're accusing them of being the reason they're succeeding, if you flipped and gave that to the US companies, none of us have confidence that would work.
verbatim transcript · starts at 43:30
43:30like it's very unclear to me like what we're pointing at and accusing and why it doesn't isn't the same thing here. And then lastly, you know, Elon's published all the Tesla patents. Okay. So, there's free IP for Ford and GM. And I would ask you with that free IP, if we gave Ford and GM subsidies, do you think they'd immediately be competitive with China? >> No, sir. Okay. And if I ask a hundred
43:59smart investors that question, what would they say? >> I think they would agree with me. >> Yeah. So, so, so, so the thing we're accusing them of being the reason they're succeeding, if you flipped and gave that to the US companies, none of us have confidence that would work. So, that's what I'm saying. You just got to try and get as much information as you can, learn as much as you can. Um, so
44:21that you I I just want people to have a pragmatic view and an accurate view as they make decisions. I I did a deep dive on on your favorite product chat GBT $300 version deep research and on the 24 members of the select committee for the CCP and I think all but four have never been to China. >> Um, right. And the ones that went it was
44:45seven years ago. I'd just encourage them to go visit if they're going to sit there and have um such strong opinions. It'd be good if they were educated. I wouldn't want if you were putting together a committee inside of your corporation um that's going to be in charge of something, wouldn't you want the most educated people on that committee? >> I can already hear the criticism that
45:05Oh, yeah. Um, you know, you know, of course people would say, well, we don't expect the CEO of BYD to tell you the truth necessarily about government subsidies or or or things like this. Um, but here's the one thing I want to get across in, you know, kind of this pragmatist camp. We do have to be self-reflective, right? I mean, if we have this if we have this view that the only reason