It’s no secret that Tesla is held as the gold standard for success in the electric vehicle (EV) market, both outside the automotive industry and within. Rival automakers often test and benchmark Tesla’s EVs to guide the development of their own (usually in secret, of course).
Automotive publication GM Authority recently spotted General Motors Co. doing exactly that. The Model Y was photographed undergoing benchmarking by the veteran carmaker.
Testing and gathering data on the Model Y makes complete sense for GM right now, given that the company unveiled the Chevy Equinox EV at the beginning of this year and teased the Chevy Blazer SS in March.
Both of those cars are positioned in the same market segment as the Model Y, and so will trade blows with Tesla’s all-electric crossover when they eventually launch.
Becoming the global leader in EV sales and development, Tesla has established itself as “the one to beat” in the space. Tesla is the Goliath to every other EV maker’s David — and to beat your enemy, you must first get to know your enemy.
According to GM Authority, the legacy automaker is interested in more than just the Tesla Model Y. The company has recently been testing other offerings from Tesla as well, including the high-performance Tesla Model S Plaid and the high-end Model X crossover.
What’s more, GM is also curious about Tesla’s software offerings and has been seen analyzing features like Summon and the tech behind them.
General Motors plans to completely axe internal combustion engines across all of its brands and go all-electric by 2035. The carmaker will increase its investment in EV and autonomous driving technology to $35 billion USD to make that happen.
