TOKYO — When engineers at Toyota studied teardown results of the Tesla Model Y, it did more than expose key technological secrets of the popular American-made, full-electric crossover.
It also tore away a moldering complacency at the Japanese automaker.
What lay underneath the Model Y's sheet metal was a masterfully simplistic vehicle structure built with an advanced manufacturing prowess that would be the envy of any old-guard automaker.
"Taking the skin off the Model Y, it was truly a work of art," said one Toyota executive who scrutinized the Tesla part by part. "It's unbelievable."