XPeng's Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng and Liu Xianming, head of the company's General Intelligence Center, discussed the technical capabilities, rollout schedule, and medium-to-long-term plans for the second-generation VLA during a live broadcast on March 16.

A recent media comparison conducted during Beijing's evening rush hour showed that the second-generation VLA outperformed Tesla's FSD V13 in multiple metrics. However, since FSD is currently only available as V13 in China, questions have been raised about how the second-generation VLA would fare against V14, and whether XPeng and Tesla are following similar technical routes.

He Xiaopeng noted that XPeng will expand into more Asian countries by the end of this year or early next year, emphasizing that meaningful comparisons can only be made when both systems operate in the same country and timeframe. Based on his experience, He stated that the second-generation VLA demonstrates stronger human-vehicle interaction capabilities and better performance on narrow roads compared to Tesla's FSD in the U.S.

Liu Xianming expressed that he views Tesla more as a friend than a competitor. When asked whether XPeng and Tesla share similar technical approaches, Liu replied that Tesla's specific technical route is unknown, and the second-generation VLA was developed independently through internal exploration. He added that both he and He Xiaopeng hope to see multiple advanced driver-assistance systems thrive in China, with XPeng maintaining an open mindset and willing to share its experience to promote industry-wide progress.