It has been dubbed ‘the Tesla killer’. And shares in Chinese electric car champion BYD soared to a record high yesterday after it claimed it can charge its vehicles as quickly as it takes to fill up with petrol.

That suggests BYD, which includes Warren Buffett among its backers, has overtaken Tesla and others in developing fast-charging technology for EVs – giving it a crucial edge over its rivals.

The surge in the BYD share price – taking gains this year to 55 per cent – came as Tesla fell another 5 per cent to take its losses for 2025 to almost 41 per cent. 

The contrasting fortunes underline the threat posed to Tesla – run by Donald Trump’s ally Elon Musk – from Chinese rivals.

‘BYD is surpassing its competitor,’ said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Tesla has lost more than half its value since the shares peaked in mid-December – wiping £630billion off its value and £120billion off Musk’s fortune.

Hedge funds that took out short positions against the electric car maker – betting the stock price would fall – have made an estimated £12.5billion over the past three months.

Musk is struggling to maintain Tesla’s dominance in the electric car arms race amid competition from China and a backlash in some quarters over his forays into politics.

Shares in BYD, which is based in Shenzhen, hit a record 401 Hong Kong dollars yesterday in Asia. 

The jump came after BYD’s billionaire founder Wang Chuanfu claimed its new charging system could fill up an electric vehicle in five minutes – about as long as it takes to fill a car with petrol.