A founder's personal brand is a double-edged sword - when wielded skillfully, it can add golden value to the brand, but any misstep can backfire and damage the brand's reputation. Many netizens have noticed that the signature criticism once exclusively associated with NIO Inc. founder Li Bin - "disliking a brand because of one person" - is now being directed at Xiaomi Corp.'s Lei Jun.
"Everything Tesla has, I have too. Everything I have, Tesla will never have." Li Bin's bold declarations once made many people frown. Meanwhile, Lei Jun, an entrepreneur known for his "honest" persona, admitted in his latest speech on September 25, 2025, that online criticism calling Xiaomi Corp. an "assembly factory" that "only knows marketing" made him "very angry."
Two entrepreneurs with different styles face a common challenge: when personal image becomes deeply intertwined with brand reputation, how can they ensure their products truly win consumer trust and help their companies go further and more steadily?
Is Li Bin Really Arrogant? Is Lei Jun Necessarily Humble?
When facing the public, Li Bin is known for his confident and direct approach. His statements like "Porsche's factory definitely can't compare to JAC's factory" and "Why doesn't Tesla do battery swapping? Because it can't compete with us" tend to spark controversy. While this style might attract attention in a brand's early stages, it could become a negative filter as the company matures.
Particularly his comment "I don't understand why people still buy gas cars" invisibly angered many fuel vehicle users. Such either-or statements distanced him from potential consumers.
In recent years, NIO Inc. has continued to expand its losses, with losses already exceeding 100 billion yuan and moving toward 130 billion or even 150 billion yuan. Many worry "whether NIO Inc. has a future." Against this backdrop, Li Bin's controversial statements seem to further cement his "arrogant" image.
In contrast, Lei Jun carefully constructed a humble and diligent image. He not only personally opened doors for car owners and voluntarily stepped aside during group photos, but also shared his journey through annual speeches, creating a "model worker" and "honest entrepreneur" persona. His donation of 1.3 billion yuan to Wuhan University further strengthened his public perception as "kind and loving." This image management helped the Xiaomi brand gain extremely high public trust and goodwill in its early stages.
However, the high-speed collision and explosion of Xiaomi SU7 that killed three female college students became the catalyst for backlash against Lei Jun's gentleman image. The response and actions by Lei Jun and Xiaomi Corp. after the accident fell far short of public expectations, disappointing many consumers. Following this incident, online exposure of Xiaomi vehicles as "green belt warriors" emerged continuously.
Recently, as Xiaomi Corp. announced a large-scale recall, Lei Jun's bold claim to "dare to benchmark against the world's number one" now sounds extremely jarring.
Lei Jun's Trust Crisis: From Marketing Rhetoric to Product Safety
On September 19, 2025, Xiaomi Corp. announced the recall of 117,000 SU7 Standard Edition electric vehicles due to potential insufficient recognition of extreme scenarios when the L2 high-speed navigation assisted driving function is enabled, creating safety hazards. However, Xiaomi Corp. initially downplayed this safety defect as "functional optimization" and "enhancing user experience," announcing plans to address it through OTA updates.
The State Administration for Market Regulation's publication "Product Reliability Report" subsequently revealed the truth: the "S" in the recall number represents safety defects, while "I" indicates forced recall after investigation. This starkly contrasts with Xiaomi Corp.'s promoted "proactive reliability enhancement."
From the timeline perspective, related issues can be traced back to March 2025, but Xiaomi Corp. only filed the recall plan in September after regulatory authorities initiated defect investigation procedures. This "delay first, respond passively later" approach contrasts sharply with most automakers' practice of proactively reporting hazards.
More intriguingly, is this recall related to the three female students' accident over five months ago? According to reports at the time, the involved vehicle was in NOA intelligent assisted driving mode before the accident occurred, with only about 2-4 seconds between the system's risk warning and the collision.
In his annual speech on September 25, 2025, Lei Jun responded to external questioning, expressing determination to "directly face all problems, find breakthrough solutions, and defy fate." He tried to use this speech as an opportunity to reverse public opinion, emphasizing the theme of "change." However, the timing of Lei Jun's crisis response is worth pondering - the speech was scheduled six days after the recall announcement, inevitably raising questions about his sincerity. Additionally, if Xiaomi Corp. truly faced problems honestly, shouldn't the recall truth align with the speech content?
Currently, as departments like the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology strengthen supervision and regulate promotional terminology related to intelligent driving, consumers are increasingly focusing on product safety, reliability, and experience. The market is shifting from "founder worship" to a rational awakening of "safety first." Every instance of market distrust triggers the fastest reaction in capital markets - Xiaomi Corp.'s stock price fell 3.2% after the aforementioned high-speed accident. This time, Xiaomi Corp.'s stock price also plummeted 8% after Lei Jun's speech.
For Xiaomi Corp. and Lei Jun, what we want to say is: in this era of "information equality," superficial sincerity is only temporary - only genuine sincerity is the ultimate weapon.