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Tesla-inspired Xpeng Motors unveils Model 3 competitor despite Autopilot lawsuit

Credit: Xpeng Motors

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China’s Xpeng Motors recently unveiled its answer to the Tesla Model 3, the P7 sedan. The vehicle is impressive, packing up to 440 miles of range per charge under NEDC standards at a price that undercuts more established rivals. But the company’s competition with Tesla goes beyond the pavement and well into the courtroom.

Xpeng issued a press release on April 27 announcing the official launch of its second production model vehicle. The P7 is currently available for order in China in three versions: a 4WD High Performance trim that can hit 0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds, an RWD Super Long Range variant that goes 440 miles under the NEDC cycle, and the entry level RWD Long Range. The all-electric sedan uses 12 ultrasonic sensors, five millimeter-wave radars, and 14 cameras to operate its autonomous driving system, which is known as XPILOT3.0. After subsidies, the car will cost between $32,462 and $49,404.

“Today is a milestone in the 5-year history of Xpeng Motors,” Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said. “The P7’s launch solidifies Xpeng Motors’ leading position in China’s smart EV market. Our ability to launch the P7 in the challenging conditions of the COVID-19 crisis is a testament to the strength of our young company.”

However, Xpeng’s presence in the world of electric vehicles goes much further than the launch of its new car. The company is currently in a legal battle with Tesla, who is suing a company engineer for allegedly stealing Autopilot’s source code prior to starting his employment at the Chinese automaker.

Tesla accused Guangzhi Cao of downloading Autopilot’s source code to his personal computer and transferring it via Apple Airdrop before selling it to Xpeng for financial gain. Airdrop is a complicated method to trace because it uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption. Cao, for his part, maintains that he did download some of Autopilot’s source code to his personal computer, but he argued that he deleted it before leaving Tesla to join Xpeng.

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Unfortunately for the Chinese EV startup, Tesla’s Autopilot source lawsuit is turning ugly. The most recent developments in the lawsuit state that Xpeng is claiming Tesla’s requests are “stereotypical” after the company demanded information from an ex-employee of Apple. Just like Cao, the ex-Apple employee left his job for Xpeng and was criminally charged with providing information to the Chinese automaker, Automotive News stated.

“Tesla’s latest demands crossed the line, seeking to rummage through our IP on Tesla’s terms — and smearing us along the way with misrepresentations and innuendo,” a spokesperson from Xpeng’s U.S. affiliate, XMotors, said. “Tesla’s overreach and distortions confirm this is just a fishing expedition meant to bully and disrupt a young competitor.”

Interestingly enough, Xpeng executives have been vocal supporters of Tesla in the past. President and Vice Chairman of Xpeng, Brian Gu, has passed along compliments to Tesla, comparing them to technology giant Apple. “Tesla reminds me of Apple. It educated the high-end market for China, but it also spurred a lot of competitive, diverse brands like Xiaomi and Huawei to come up with really cool and affordable products,” Gu said.

Additionally, CEO He Xiaopeng stated that the company probably would not exist if Tesla didn’t release 200 patents to the public a few years ago. One of the reasons Xpeng was founded was because Elon Musk made Tesla’s patents available. It was so exciting,” he said. However, these patents did not include any Autopilot coding, which is instrumental in Tesla’s lead in the autonomous vehicle industry.

Xpeng’s full press release is available here.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Full Self-Driving pricing strategy eliminates one recurring complaint

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s new Full Self-Driving pricing strategy will eliminate one recurring complaint that many owners have had in the past: FSD transfers.

In the past, if a Tesla owner purchased the Full Self-Driving suite outright, the company did not allow them to transfer the purchase to a new vehicle, essentially requiring them to buy it all over again, which could obviously get pretty pricey.

This was until Q3 2023, when Tesla allowed a one-time amnesty to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle, and then again last year.

Tesla is now allowing it to happen again ahead of the February 14th deadline.

The program has given people the opportunity to upgrade to new vehicles with newer Hardware and AI versions, especially those with Hardware 3 who wish to transfer to AI4, without feeling the drastic cost impact of having to buy the $8,000 suite outright on several occasions.

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Now, that issue will never be presented again.

Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on X that the Full Self-Driving suite would only be available in a subscription platform, which is the other purchase option it currently offers for FSD use, priced at just $99 per month.

Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk

Having it available in a subscription-only platform boasts several advantages, including the potential for a tiered system that would potentially offer less expensive options, a pay-per-mile platform, and even coupling the program with other benefits, like Supercharging and vehicle protection programs.

While none of that is confirmed and is purely speculative, the one thing that does appear to be a major advantage is that this will completely eliminate any questions about transferring the Full Self-Driving suite to a new vehicle. This has been a particular point of contention for owners, and it is now completely eliminated, as everyone, apart from those who have purchased the suite on their current vehicle.

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Now, everyone will pay month-to-month, and it could make things much easier for those who want to try the suite, justifying it from a financial perspective.

The important thing to note is that Tesla would benefit from a higher take rate, as more drivers using it would result in more data, which would help the company reach its recently-revealed 10 billion-mile threshold to reach an Unsupervised level. It does not cost Tesla anything to run FSD, only to develop it. If it could slice the price significantly, more people would buy it, and more data would be made available.

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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025

The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y continued to overwhelmingly dominate the United States’ electric vehicle market in 2025. New sales data showed that Tesla’s two mass market cars maintained a commanding segment share, with the Model 3 posting year-to-date growth and the Model Y remaining resilient despite factory shutdowns tied to its refresh.

The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.

Model 3 and Model Y are still dominant

According to the report, Tesla delivered an estimated 192,440 Model 3 sedans in the United States in 2025, representing a 1.3% year-to-date increase compared to 2024. The Model 3 alone accounted for 15.9% of all U.S. EV sales, making it one of the highest-volume electric vehicles in the country.

The Model Y was even more dominant. U.S. deliveries of the all-electric crossover reached 357,528 units in 2025, a 4.0% year-to-date decline from the prior year. It should be noted, however, that the drop came during a year that included production shutdowns at Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Texas as the company transitioned to the new Model Y. Even with those disruptions, the Model Y captured an overwhelming 39.5% share of the market, far surpassing any single competitor.

Combined, the Model 3 and Model Y represented more than half of all EVs sold in the United States during 2025, highlighting Tesla’s iron grip on the country’s mass-market EV segment.

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Tesla’s challenges in 2025

Tesla’s sustained performance came amid a year of elevated public and political controversy surrounding Elon Musk, whose political activities in the first half of the year ended up fueling a narrative that the CEO’s actions are damaging the automaker’s consumer appeal. However, U.S. sales data suggest that demand for Tesla’s core vehicles has remained remarkably resilient.

Based on Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report, Tesla’s most expensive offerings such as the Tesla Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X, all saw steep declines in 2025. This suggests that mainstream EV buyers might have had a price issue with Tesla’s more expensive offerings, not an Elon Musk issue. 

Ultimately, despite broader EV market softness, with total U.S. EV sales slipping about 2% year-to-date, Tesla still accounted for 58.9% of all EV deliveries in 2025, according to the report. This means that out of every ten EVs sold in the United States in 2025, more than half of them were Teslas. 

Q4 2025 Kelley Blue Book EV Sales Report by Simon Alvarez

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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y earn Euro NCAP Best in Class safety awards

“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East

Tesla won dual categories in the Euro NCAP Best in Class awards, with the Model 3 being named the safest Large Family Car and the Model Y being recognized as the safest Small SUV.

The feat was highlighted by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official account on social media platform X.

Model 3 and Model Y lead their respective segments

As per a press release from the Euro NCAP, the organization’s Best in Class designation is based on a weighted assessment of four key areas: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User, and Safety Assist. Only vehicles that achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and were evaluated with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award.

Euro NCAP noted that the updated Tesla Model 3 performed particularly well in Child Occupant protection, while its Safety Assist score reflected Tesla’s ongoing improvements to driver-assistance systems. The Model Y similarly stood out in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category win. 

“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.

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Euro NCAP leadership shares insights

Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said the organization’s Best in Class awards are designed to help consumers identify the safest vehicles over the past year.

Van Ratingen noted that 2025 was Euro NCAP’s busiest year to date, with more vehicles tested than ever before, amid a growing variety of electric cars and increasingly sophisticated safety systems. While the Mercedes-Benz CLA ultimately earned the title of Best Performer of 2025, he emphasized that Tesla finished only fractionally behind in the overall rankings.

“It was a close-run competition,” van Ratingen said. “Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants like firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance, and running costs from their next car.”

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