Tesla debuted the revamped Model Y in China, sparking comparisons to XPeng’s P7, an irony given XPeng’s history as a Tesla imitation from the start.
It goes full circle.
Henry Xia, the founder of Xpeng, candidly acknowledged being inspired by Tesla’s pioneering move to make its patents publicly available when it announced plans to open-source them in 2014.
Reportedly, Tesla’s primary critic in embracing its patent offering at no cost was…
However, matters took a dramatic turn for the worse from that point on.
While Xpeng initially drew inspiration from Tesla’s innovative designs and openly shared patents, Tesla’s Autopilot feature has been replicated in the new car, with a cluster of consumer interfaces.
Tesla subsequently filed a lawsuit against Guangzhi Cao, a former Autopilot engineer who defected to join XPeng’s autonomous driving team. Tesla accuses an engineer of pilfering its Autopilot software code to benefit Chinese electric car startup XPeng.
The lawsuit was finally settled in 2021. XPeng denied being the catalyst for the lawsuit, stating that its advanced driver-assistant features were solely dependent on internal development.
Yet, despite initial momentum, Xpeng didn’t stop emulating Tesla’s playbook entirely. In a surprising incident in 2020, the Chinese language company briefly mimicked Tesla’s website.
Now, several years later, one could reasonably argue that it’s veering sharply in the opposite direction.
Tesla unveiled its redesigned Model Y in China yesterday, featuring a striking new front end that bears a remarkable resemblance to XPeng’s P7+, as well as other vehicles in their lineup.
The exterior design boasts a striking resemblance to its predecessor, featuring an identical three-section lightbar and harmoniously integrated headlights protruding from the side air intakes.
According to a recent Instagram post by Xpeng’s senior designer Rafik Ferrag, there appears to be a striking resemblance between Tesla’s newly refreshed Model Y and Xpeng’s designs.
In 2019, Xiaopeng P7 unveiled a pioneering design for an entrance cross-over lamp, revolutionizing the industry with its innovative approach. In reality, our team crafted this set of options back in 2018, which has since served as Xiaopeng’s distinct identifier and DNA. Despite its decline, the electric vehicle is still being recognized as a pioneer in the industry, with many manufacturers such as Tesla and Lucid paying homage to its innovative spirit.
Before Tesla unveiled its latest Model Y, Chinese electric-vehicle maker Xpeng preceded with an early reveal, sharing the first official images of its new G7 SUV, boasting a remarkably similar frontal design.
Xpeng’s automotive deliveries surged by 34% in 2024, a significant growth compared to Tesla’s decline of 1%. The G7 can be seen as a key rival to Tesla’s Model Y in China, its largest and most crucial market.
Electrek’s Take
The cyclical nature of existence perpetually unfolds before us, never truly beginning or ending. While suspicions about Xpeng copying Tesla persist, there’s no definitive proof linking the Chinese automaker to such actions. Conversely, the similarities between their designs could be mere coincidence or a reflection of the broader electric vehicle (EV) industry’s converging trends.
Xpeng’s performance in China has been impressive, particularly with its lineup over the past year. The G7 now poses a significant threat to Tesla’s main cash cow, the Model Y sales in China.
Is Tesla getting nervous?
