Tesla Model Y Has Toyota Execs Gushing: 'A True Work of Art' — Here's How Elon Musk Reacted

Toyota Corp. TM has been a reluctant pureplay electric vehicle adopter, and with a new CEO assuming reigns shortly, the Japanese auto giant could be shedding this long-held inhibition.

What Happened: Toyota engineers recently did a tear-down study of Tesla Inc. TSLA Model Y SUV as the Japanese company strives to develop a competitive electric vehicle, reported Automotive News.

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“Taking the skin off the Model Y, it was truly, a true work of art,” a Toyota executive who was involved in the tear-down study that scrutinized the vehicle part by part reportedly said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Reacting to Toyota executives’ comments on the Model Y, Elon Musk said, “Kind words from @Toyota.”

Kind words from @Toyota

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 28, 2023

Why It’s Important: The praise comes from executives of the company, which plunged into electrification way back in 1997 with the launch of the first Prius hybrid car. The Toyota City, Aichi-headquartered company, however, lagged along the way as it shunned pureplay EVs and bet on hybrids instead.

Koji Sato, who is set to take over as CEO on April 1, has reportedly pledged to revamp the slowly-progressing EV strategy, stating on Monday that the accelerated rollout would center around a next-gen platform, which will likely arrive around 2026.

Incidentally, Toyota is still the auto industry’s volume leader, and in 2022 it delivered 10.61 million cars compared to Tesla’s 1.314 million units.

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