The CEO of Ford realized that his company had been making EVs wrong after taking apart a Tesla and finding something inside that left him ‘flabbergasted’.
In a new interview, Jim Farley spoke about his first five years at the head of Ford.
During the interview, he recalled how the company changed course after COVID, realizing it ‘hadn’t designed the electric cars right’.
This realization came after tearing apart a Tesla.
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What taking a Tesla apart taught the CEO of Ford about EVs
Speaking to Car and Driver, Farley reflected on what had changed in the years since he stepped into the role of Ford’s CEO.
He admitted that an ‘internal-combustion-engine prejudice’ had led to Ford designing its EVs in a way that wasn’t efficient.
Despite the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit being well received, he conceded that people ‘were never going to pay the cost we put into the vehicle’.
Jim Farley
So, what was the turning point? Ripping apart a Tesla Model 3.
Describing himself as ‘flabbergasted’, Farley was stunned to realize that the wiring harness inside the Mach-E was 70lbs heavier and 1.6km longer than the one inside the Tesla.
“We didn’t know what was going on in [Tesla engineers’ ] minds. But now we understand,” Farley said.
“They had no prejudice. We had prejudice.”
This isn’t the first time Farley has spoken on this experience.
Talking to Monica Langley on the Office Hours Podcast, he recalled being ‘humbled’ by the experience.
Office Hours: Business Edition
The additional 70lbs of extra weight equaled $200 more being spent on each battery per vehicle to ‘haul around the wiring of the car’.
In fairness to Ford, it’s not like Tesla hasn’t also taken notes from other manufacturers – just look what it found when looking inside a Chinese EV.
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Chinese EVs also had a lot to teach Jim Farley
Tesla isn’t the only manufacturer that Farley could take some pointers from.
Chinese brands like BYD and Xiaomi also proved to be illuminating in their own ways.
Stripping down the Chinese EVs was just as eye-opening as it was with the Tesla.
“When we took them apart, it was shocking what we found,” Farley said back in November 2025.
CBS
Much like with the Model 3, the takeaway was that Ford was making its EVs needlessly heavy and needlessly expensive.
As a result, the company separated its electric car operations into its own arm.
To be so open about learning from others is commendable, especially in an industry so often rooted in competition.
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