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Reader question: In the following sentence, what does “doubled down” mean exactly? BYD, sometimes referred to as China’s Tesla, doubled down on all-electric by adding a second model to its line-up. My comments: BYD, a Chinese carmaker, has brought a second all-electric model to the market. This shows that BYD is determined to continue with its all-electric strategy, even though going all-electric is considered risky. Although the concept of electric cars has been around for years, decades as a matter of fact, most cars still run on petrol or gas. Carmakers haven’t gone all out on electric vehicles despite of the obvious benefit of using electricity to power a car. Electricity is considered a form of clean energy, relatively speaking and therefore environmentally friendly. But electric cars haven’t proven to be a success market-wise. That’s why most carmakers don’t mass produce them. Not yet. That’s why investment in electric vehicles is still considered risky. We can also infer that going all-electric is risky business from the phrase “doubled down” itself, because “double down” is originally a gambling term. In gambling, one’s good luck may come and go, but the risks are always there. Anyways, round the gambling table, to double down means for a gambler to double his or her bet. If they have initially put 100 dollars on the table earlier in the game, for example, they now add 100 dollars more to the stake, therefore assuming twice as much risk as before. In other words, they’re not backing down in face of greater money-losing risks. | 
