{"id":"1793304061972-tech-segment","slug":"california-picks-chinese-byd-for-electric-buses","title":"California picks Chinese BYD for electric buses","summary":"California's Department of General Services added BYD's U.S.-built battery-electric motor coaches — K10M, C9M, and C10M models — to a statewide purchasing contract intended to help transit agencies meet California's zero-emission bus rules. Separately, Gov. Newsom toured a BYD electric bus charging depot in Shenzhen in October 2023, and BYD received a $990 million no-bid mask contract from California in 2020. [en.byd.com](https://en.byd.com/news/byd-motor-coaches-selected-for-california-purchasing-contract/) [dailycallernewsfoundation.org](https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2023/10/25/gavin-newsom-test-drives-ev-hybrid-made-by-chinese-company-that-he-once-gave-a-massive-no-bid-contract/)\n\nCalifornia's clean-air rules require public transit fleets to shift to zero-emission buses, and BYD operates a unionized factory in Lancaster, California. The Trump administration's rollback of federal EV policy has made some California clean-transportation figures more willing to consider Chinese EVs as a lower-cost option. [politico.com](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-climate/2026/03/17/the-adversarial-answer-to-californias-ev-woes-00833427)\n\nCalifornia's Department of General Services selected BYD battery-electric motor coaches — heavy-duty transit buses — for a statewide purchasing contract, and Gov. Newsom toured a BYD charging depot in Shenzhen in 2023. But this is a bus contract in a category Tesla and Rivian don't compete in, not Newsom personally picking BYD over them. BYD builds the coaches in Lancaster, California with union labor. [en.byd.com](https://en.byd.com/news/byd-motor-coaches-selected-for-california-purchasing-contract/)","publishedAt":"2026-10-29T20:01:01.972Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Machines","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"MISLEADING","notes":"MISLEADING: California's Department of General Services selected BYD battery-electric motor coaches — heavy-duty transit buses — for a statewide purchasing contract, and Gov. Newsom toured a BYD charging depot in Shenzhen in 2023. But this is a bus contract in a category Tesla and Rivian don't compete in, not Newsom personally picking BYD over them. BYD builds the coaches in Lancaster, California with union labor. [en.byd.com](https://en.byd.com/news/byd-motor-coaches-selected-for-california-purchasing-contract/)\nSource: BYD USA / Politico / Daily Caller News Foundation NAMES: BYD = Chinese electric-vehicle and battery maker; Tesla and Rivian are U.S. EV makers. (https://x.com/DanaPoint88/status/2113646530930659488)","claims":[{"verdict":"MISLEADING","summary":"California's Department of General Services selected BYD battery-electric motor coaches — heavy-duty transit buses — for a statewide purchasing contract, and Gov. Newsom toured a BYD charging depot in Shenzhen in 2023. But this is a bus contract in a category Tesla and Rivian don't compete in, not Newsom personally picking BYD over them. BYD builds the coaches in Lancaster, California with union labor. [en.byd.com](https://en.byd.com/news/byd-motor-coaches-selected-for-california-purchasing-contract/)","sourceName":"BYD USA / Politico / Daily Caller News Foundation NAMES: BYD = Chinese electric-vehicle and battery maker; Tesla and Rivian are U.S. EV makers.","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/DanaPoint88/status/2113646530930659488","claim":"So @CAgovernor would rather give electric vehicle contracts to Chinese BYD than @elonmusk ‘s @tesla or @Rivian Make that make sense, as a Californian you don’t hate @GavinNewsom enough. The guy ran the best electric car company out of California and here is one of the many https:","author":"James Croft (@DanaPoint88)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/DanaPoint88/status/2113646530930659488","name":"BYD USA / Politico / Daily Caller News Foundation NAMES: BYD = Chinese electric-vehicle and battery maker; Tesla and Rivian are U.S. EV makers.","kind":"x","verdict":"MISLEADING","author":"James Croft (@DanaPoint88)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793304061972-tech-segment-california-picks-chinese-byd-for-electric-buses","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793304061972-tech-segment-california-picks-chinese-byd-for-electric-buses","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1793304061972-tech-segment-california-picks-chinese-byd-for-electric-buses and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Chris","text":"California just picked a Chinese company for its electric buses, and a post on X says Newsom chose them over Tesla and Rivian."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Over Tesla and Rivian? They don't make buses."},{"host":"Chris","text":"James Croft posted on X, basically saying Newsom would rather give electric vehicle contracts to Chinese BYD than Musk's Tesla or Rivian. He added, make that make sense."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Here's what actually happened. California's Department of General Services put BYD motor coaches on a statewide purchasing contract. Those are heavy-duty transit buses."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Tesla and Rivian don't compete in that category. They don't build motor coaches. So the whole framing is off."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Okay, fair. It's not a direct pick over Tesla. But why are California tax dollars going to a Chinese company with ties to Beijing?"},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Because BYD builds those coaches in Lancaster, California, with union labor. That's not outsourcing. It's a factory in the state."},{"host":"Chris","text":"This is the same BYD that got a no-bid mask contract from Newsom in 2020, almost a billion dollars. And Newsom toured their charging depot in Shenzhen in 2023. He was literally in one of their electric buses."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The Shenzhen trip was to see how a city runs a hundred percent zero-emission bus and taxi fleet. And the mask contract was a pandemic emergency. Separate thing."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Still, it's a pattern. California lectures everyone about clean energy, then buys from a Chinese state-backed company."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"It's not a lecture. California has a zero-emission bus mandate. Transit agencies need electric buses now. BYD already has a union factory here."},{"host":"Chris","text":"So why didn't an American company get that contract? We have domestic bus makers."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"They could bid. The statewide contract is open. But BYD likely undercut on price, or the others couldn't scale. I don't have the bid details."},{"host":"Chris","text":"And that's my problem. A Chinese company undercuts, gets a foothold, and then dominates. It's the same playbook as solar panels."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Solar panels are already dominated by China. And California buys them because they're cheap. Should we pay triple for American panels just to feel good?"},{"host":"Chris","text":"If it keeps the money here and doesn't enrich the Chinese Communist Party? Yes."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Oh, come on. You want taxpayers to pay triple while the state budget is a mess? That's not free market, that's protectionism."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Protectionism isn't a dirty word when the other side is a state-owned enterprise trying to destroy your industry!"},{"host":"Matilda","text":"BYD isn't destroying the American bus industry. Proterra went bankrupt for its own reasons. This contract creates American jobs in Lancaster."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Union jobs at a Chinese-owned factory still send profits back to Shenzhen."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"They also pay wages and taxes here. And Washington rolled back federal EV policy, so California is looking for cheaper options. That's the environment we're in."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Exactly! That's my point. Now Sacramento is turning to Beijing. It's a self-inflicted wound."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"No, it's a bus contract. You're making it sound like they handed over California's whole fleet to China. These are motor coaches for transit agencies, not Teslas in every driveway."},{"host":"Chris","text":"You don't think it sends a message? California, home of Tesla, buying Chinese EVs while Musk is off in Texas? That's embarrassing."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Musk moved Tesla to Texas. That was his call. And Tesla doesn't make transit buses. If they did, maybe they'd be in the running. This is about what's actually available."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I just don't like American taxpayer money going to a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Fair. But the buses are assembled here by American workers. And Dan Sperling, a former California Air Resources Board member, says the state should seriously look at small numbers of Chinese EVs."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Dan Sperling. He's been around forever. I get it, they're cheaper. But you don't solve a federal policy gap by buying from China."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Maybe you do if the goal is clean air and there's no domestic alternative at that price. I'd rather the money stay here too, but the contract is legal and it's built in Lancaster."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I still don't like it. But I'll grant you the post overstated it. Newsom didn't pick BYD over Tesla and Rivian. He didn't pick them at all."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Right. And that's what people should know before they rage-share."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Speaking of EV rankings, USA Today Cars posted that Rivian is now the second most popular EV brand behind Tesla."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I saw that. I've seen Rivians everywhere lately. The R2 is finally hitting volume."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I checked, and I'm not seeing full-year numbers that back that up."},{"host":"Chris","text":"But Ford and Chevy are pulling back on EVs, right? Maybe Rivian has momentum in 2026."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Momentum yes, but actual sales numbers? Not yet. The post cites 2026 data that I can't find."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Maybe it's projected? USA Today Cars usually reports on data."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"If it's projected, they should say projected. Otherwise it's misleading."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I'll say this: Rivian's the only American EV maker besides Tesla with a real brand. I wouldn't be shocked if they get there."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Could be. Just don't put them second until the numbers do."}]}