XPeng’s founder tested out Tesla FSD in the US to see how it compares to XNGP [Video]

For a couple of years, two of the leading driving systems pushing the limits of automotive autonomy have been Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) and XPeng Motors’ Navigation Guided Pilot (XNGP). Both EV automakers are leading the race in their respective markets, but neither technology is available in the opposite country (at least for now). In a cool video recently posted by XPeng, founder, chairman, and CEO He Xiaopeng tested out Tesla FSD for himself in the US and documented his experience, which you can see in the video below.

When you think about self-driving passenger EVs, Tesla is usually the first name that pops into your head. The American automaker has promised true self-driving capabilities in its models for years. It has yet to truly make good on that promise, but its current iteration of FSD is impressive in many ways.

Tesla still has not been certified for Level 3 autonomous driving in the US by SAE standards, while competitors like Mercedes-Benz are already selling EVs with that level of autonomy (with plenty of limiting parameters, of course).

Across the ocean in China, several EV automakers have developed self-driving technology of their own, and one of the clear leaders in the market is currently XPeng Motors. We’ve followed XPeng’s progress in autonomy and challenging Tesla FSD from its original ADAS, called Navigation Guided Pilot, or NGP, which initially only applied to highway driving scenarios.

XPeng has since introduced extended coverage to more congested urban roads with City NGP before piloting its next phase in self-driving – XNGP, which fully launched in March 2023, heralded as “the most advanced and capable in China.”

As of February 2024, XNGP is available to XPeng drivers throughout China. However, as Tesla inches closer to bringing FSD overseas, XPeng’s founder took a trip to the States to test its latest version in a friendly comparison video.

Watch XPeng’s founder shares his thoughts on Tesla FSD

Before the full video posted to YouTube by XPeng Motors earlier today, the automaker’s founder, chairman, and CEO, He Xiaopeng, took to LinkedIn to tease his experience in the US testing Tesla FSD V12.3.6. Per the post:

I am truly impressed by the significant progress FSD has made in just a few months. It offers valuable features and a user experience that we can learn from.

I believe 2025 will be a pivotal ‘ChatGPT moment’ for the fully autonomous driving era, revolutionizing how we interact with technology and fundamentally transforming the way we travel.

In the autonomous driving industry, everyone is learning from each other and iterating quickly to create a better mobility experience for all.

Xiaopeng shared that he also tested a Waymo self-driving vehicle, which he believes performed better than FSD in downtown San Francisco. However, he added that Tesla’s technology excelled around Silicon Valley, particularly on highways.

This is an interesting comparison video as XPeng Motors and Tesla do not have the rosiest past as EV competitors. At one point, Tesla tried to sue XPeng, claiming it stole its Autopilot source code. Still, that lawsuit was inevitably settled between the former employee and Tesla in 2021 and had no litigious involvement from XPeng whatsoever.

Another interesting tidbit is that reports earlier this year have shown that XPeng is considering transitioning from LiDAR sensors to pure vision cameras, similar to Tesla’s approach with FSD. With Tesla looking to bring FSD to China soon and XPeng simultaneously expanding XNGP availability in Europe, the global self-driving competition is heating up, and it’s fun to watch.

In the meantime, the video below is a fun comparison in which one EV industry leader compliments the technology of another in many ways. It’s refreshing to see, and we recommend watching it in its entirety, as there is a lot of great insight.