2024 BYD Dolphin vs 2023 Tesla Model Y

What's the difference?

It’s about time for a change. Since the beginning of the EV era, Tesla has been the dominant name, and not without good reason.

Tesla made electric cars popular, cool, and above all, accessible. To this day, the Model 3 and Model Y remain excellent purchases in their respective categories.

And yet, the tide seems to be turning. Many buyers haven't been thrilled by Elon Musk's antics, how popular the Tesla brand has become or maybe they never liked the look and feel of Tesla to begin with.

For those prospective EV buyers, it looks like BYD is set to be the next big thing in electric cars.

Offered at a far more accessible price-point, the Chinese brand still stands out with its distinctively styled vehicles and innovative features.

And the new car we’re looking at for this review, the Dolphin hatchback, could be the one to elevate the brand to the levels of popularity and recognition Tesla currently enjoys.

At the time of writing, it was also the most affordable electric car you can buy in Australia. But is it more than that? Read on to find out.

This version of Tesla’s Model Y is the new frontier for enthusiasts. How do you make an electric performance car?

It should be easy, right? Just up the power of the motors - no need to fit a larger, more complex engine, and make sure you’ve got a battery with the appropriate outputs.

There’s far more than meets the eye. The big question is, is it worth the significant additional spend over the base Model Y?

We grabbed one of the earliest examples of the Performance to hit Australian shores to find out.