Tesla CEO Elon Musk just tipped his hat to Chinese automakers, calling them “by far the most competitive” after XPeng’s head honcho, He Xiaopeng, took Tesla’s latest V12 FSD system for a spin in the good ol’ US of A.
He Xiaopeng, clearly not one to miss out on the action, hopped across the pond to get his hands on Tesla’s FSD v12.3.6. The Chinese tech mogul even put out feelers on Weibo for anyone with the elusive FSD v12.4.1 internal beta.
Here’s where things get spicy: Tesla’s FSD is gearing up to make its grand entrance into the Chinese market this year. It’s like the automotive equivalent of a foreign exchange student program, only with more algorithms and fewer awkward cultural misunderstandings.
Tesla’s been jumping through hoops to get its FSD software registered with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Once that’s sorted, it’s pedal to the metal for internal testing on China’s public roads. If all goes according to plan, Chinese Tesla owners could be upgrading their rides with FSD faster.
Meanwhile, over in Shanghai, the Nanhui New Town is already rolling out the red carpet for a pilot program involving 10 Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD, (Tesla China employees cars have had the words ‘Employee FSD Beta Program: Registered’).
With He Xiaopeng singing praises about Tesla’s “great autonomous driving technology and brand,” it’s clear that the EV landscape in China is about to get a whole lot more interesting.