He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), personally experienced Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) FSD (Full Self-Driving) in Silicon Valley last June and offered high praise.
Now, over a year later, he revisited Silicon Valley to experience the latest FSD software and shared his observations.
Overall, FSD has evolved from the smooth L2 advanced driver assistance experience over a year ago to a near-Level 4 of reassuring performance, Mr. He wrote on Weibo today.
The Xpeng CEO test-drove a Tesla vehicle equipped with the latest FSD V14.2 software and a Tesla robotaxi on Wednesday.
During about five hours of driving in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, both the standard vehicle and the robotaxi -- sharing the same software model -- performed consistently, offering a reassuringly smooth ride, Mr. He said.
"While imperfections exist, the system significantly surpasses last year's capabilities. Our colleagues will share videos later," he wrote on Weibo.
Mr. He said that this test drive further solidified his belief that sharing the same autonomous driving system and hardware architecture between private vehicles and robotaxis is the correct approach.
"Everyone can skip the L3 smart driving stage and directly enjoy a vehicle with L4 capabilities," he said.
Xpeng is the Chinese company most akin to Tesla, possessing strong smart driving capabilities while also developing robotaxis.
At last month's 2025 AI Day event, the company announced plans to launch three robotaxi models in 2026 and commence trial operations for the service.
Xpeng will release its latest VLA 2.0 smart driving software next quarter. Due to time constraints, the initial version won't yet match the full capabilities of the current FSD V14.2, Mr. He noted.
Mr. He made a bet with XPeng's autonomous driving team: if by August 30, 2026, the company's VLA software achieves the same performance in China as FSD V14.2 does in Silicon Valley, he will approve setting up a Chinese-style cafeteria for the Silicon Valley team.
Should the target remain unmet, Liu Xianming, head of Xpeng's autonomous driving team, has pledged to run naked across the Golden Gate Bridge, He added.
Liu, with expertise in AI, formally took over as head of Xpeng's autonomous driving center in October, succeeding Li Liyun.
In late June 2024, Mr. He experienced both FSD V12.3.6 and a Waymo vehicle in California.
Waymo performed better in San Francisco's urban areas, while FSD excelled in Silicon Valley and on highways, achieving high scores with smooth handling of diverse road conditions, he noted at the time.
