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BYD Seal vs Tesla Model Y

What's the difference?

VS
BYD Seal
BYD Seal

2024 price

Tesla Model Y
Tesla Model Y

$55,900 - $82,900

2025 price

Summary

2024 BYD Seal
2025 Tesla Model Y
Safety Rating

Engine Type
0.0L

0.0L
Fuel Type
Electric

Electric
Fuel Efficiency
0.0L/100km (combined)

0.0L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Software needs a little work
  • Distance-limited warranty
  • Small boot

  • Interior looks too basic
  • Higher prices amid more competition
  • Autosteer only in 'beta' form
2024 BYD Seal Summary

BYD. The three letters which keep auto executives from the world's top brands up at night.

The brand’s meteoric rise in Australia from a trickle of imports to a torrent of Chinese-built EVs, outselling even Tesla in the first month of 2024, is testament to this relative newcomer’s ability to surprise and impress its buyers and the industry as a whole.

The car we’re looking at for this review, the Seal, could be its biggest challenge yet. Not only does it have to compete head-to-head with the car which put EVs on the map for mainstream buyers - the Tesla Model 3 - but it also has to vie for a share of the increasingly shrinking sedan market.

So, what’s the deal with the Seal? Is it any good? And, why did BYD choose to name it after a marine mammal? Read on to find out.

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2025 Tesla Model Y Summary

As recently as this time last year, Tesla was riding high. It was the darling of the electric vehicle world, the leader of the pack thanks to its colourful leader, Elon Musk.

Fast forward to now and so much has happened to Tesla in the last year it’s hard to know where to start. Sales have declined around the globe and Musk has become one of the most polarising human beings on the planet.

But that’s only part of the story, and part of the reason Tesla’s sales have dropped. The cold, hard reality of the automotive industry has also hit the American brand for the first time in its existence. A large part of the brand’s success has come from bucking the automotive industry norms, but now it appears to be dawning on Tesla that there is a reason why the rest of the industry does things the way it does.

Until now the brand has been seen as new and different, but as its cars, most notably this popular Model Y SUV start to age, they have become stale after five years on sale. So, Tesla has reverted to the tried and tested method of a mid-life facelift and other upgrades to make the Model Y look new and more appealing to buyers.

Will this be enough to turn around the sales slide? It’s hard to quantify exactly what impact Musk’s political stance is having, so we’ll stick to telling you about the car. Because, to be frank, regardless of how you feel about the owner of the company, if the product doesn’t appeal to customers, then it simply won’t sell.

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Deep dive comparison

2024 BYD Seal 2025 Tesla Model Y

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