ZEEKR throws shade at Tesla while teasing a new performance version of its 001 EV

Young EV brand ZEEKR continues to innovate at a speed worthy of a name like “Plaid” or “Sapphire,” but apparently views itself and its latest incoming sports car in an entirely different echelon. In a tweet earlier today, ZEEKR teased a performance version of its flagship 001 sedan, making it known it’s entering the sports car segment and it has its sights set on Tesla.

If you’re scratching your head wondering who ZEEKR is and why it is calling out an industry leader like Tesla, you’re probably not alone – but the Geely-owned EV luxury brand should be on your radar, because albeit young, ZEEKR is expanding quickly.

The entire ZEEKR marque was announced by Geely in March of 2021, and by October it was already rolling its flagship 001 sedan off its assembly lines in China. We have since seen two more models arrive, including the ZEEKR X SUV priced below $30,000 and designed to compete with Tesla in the Chinese market.

The X is just one of two new EV models promised to arrive this year as part of a five-task business strategy laid out by ZEEKR CEO Andy An in January. Following a cheeky tweet from ZEEKR today, we’ve learned that the second new model will be the 001 FR – a high-performance version of the sedan that started it all less than two years ago.

ZEEKR 001 gets performance upgrade – it is targeting Plaid?

The tweet posted by ZEEKR earlier today pulls no punches from the get-go, beginning with “Plaid is dull.” The Chinese automaker follows by saying the ZEEKR 001 is “a new type of beast,” although that’s all it has divulged so far.

According to Reuters, a person with direct knowledge of the ZEEKR 001 FR says the performance sports car will officially launch in a matter of weeks ahead of deliveries before the year’s end. The source also said ZEEKR’s first luxury sports car will start at a price above RMB 1 million ($138,700).

ZEEKR is clearly trying to compete with Tesla in China, especially after the latter has caused a market tizzy overseas after slashing its prices earlier this year. It’ll take more than one sports car to compete with the global market cap leader, but ZEEKR must have some pretty impressive specs to tout on the 001 FR if it feels hardened enough to call out Plaid – a badge associated with two of the fastest production EVs on the planet.

The automaker continues to ramp up in China, hitting its 100K EV milestone this past April after a mere 18 months of production. Meanwhile, the standard 001 and aforementioned ZEEKR X have begun pre-orders in the EU as the automaker expands to new markets.