Update, August 18, 2026: He Xiaopeng later repeated the same August 2026 China benchmark at Auto China. Tesla still sold consumer FSD as Supervised. A rival CEO’s “near Level 4” line is a drive impression, not an SAE rating and not a China FSD launch. See Tesery’s China FSD training-center note.
In mid-December 2025, Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng posted on Weibo after returning to Silicon Valley. He said he had just driven Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 and ridden a Tesla Robotaxi — about five hours around Palo Alto and San Mateo. A year earlier he had tried FSD v12 and called it a smooth Level 2. This time he wrote that the software had stepped into a “quasi-L4 confidence zone.” CnEVPost summarized the post the same week. An English translation circulated in Ray’s X thread.
That is a competitor compliment. It is not NHTSA saying Tesla is Level 4, and it is not Tesla changing the product name. Tesla’s own site still describes FSD as Supervised. The driver stays responsible. Tesery’s same-month v14.2.2.1 point-release story is the version trail.
Key facts
- Who: He Xiaopeng, Xpeng chairman and CEO, on Weibo after a Silicon Valley trip.
- What he drove: Tesla FSD v14.2 on a regular car, plus a Tesla Robotaxi, about five hours.
- What he said: Last year felt like high-end L2; this year felt like “quasi-L4” / “near Level 4” on the software side. He still noted hiccups.
- Xpeng target: Match Silicon Valley FSD v14.2 in China with Xpeng VLA by August 30, 2026.
- What it is not: An SAE L4 certificate, a Tesla unsupervised U.S. approval, or FSD on sale in China.
On Weibo, Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng shared testing FSD 14.2 and riding Tesla Robotaxi in Silicon Valley. A year ago FSD felt like silky L2. Now it has stepped into the quasi-L4 confidence zone. About five hours in Palo Alto and San Mateo.
— Ray (@ray4tesla) December 13, 2025
Open the English translation on X.
What “near Level 4” does not mean
SAE Level 4 means the system can do the driving in a defined domain without a human fallback. Tesla’s consumer stack in December 2025 was still Supervised. He compared a feeling — calm, consistent, fewer surprises — to last year’s v12. He also said there were still occasional hiccups. That is closer to a product review than a homologation.
He used the same trip to argue Xpeng should keep one model for private cars and robotaxis, the Tesla pattern. Tesery’s later v14.3.4 Robotaxi-rehearsal note is where that consumer/robotaxi overlap shows up in Tesla software. Do not read He’s dinner-table bet as Tesla having finished L4.
The August 30, 2026 wager
He told his autonomy team VLA 2.0 would ship the next quarter and would not yet match FSD v14.2. The deadline he set was August 30, 2026: if Xpeng’s VLA in China reaches the overall Silicon Valley FSD v14.2 feel, he would build a Chinese-style cafeteria at the Silicon Valley office. If not, autonomy head Liu Xianming had joked he would run the Golden Gate Bridge naked. Treat the cafeteria and the bridge as motivation, not a contract.
The hard part of the bet is geography. Matching v14.2 in China depends on local data, maps, and approval. Tesla was still hiring and standing up China FSD work in 2026; see Tesery’s Shanghai Autopilot-hire story.
FAQ
Did Xpeng’s CEO say Tesla FSD is legally Level 4?
No. He described a “quasi-L4” or “near Level 4” confidence after one afternoon of driving.
Did he prefer Tesla to Waymo?
On earlier trips he had said Waymo was stronger in dense San Francisco and Tesla stronger on freeways and suburbs. The December 2025 post is about Tesla’s year-over-year jump, not a new Waymo scorecard.
Is FSD v14.2 in China?
Not from this post. He’s benchmark is Silicon Valley v14.2. China FSD is a separate approval path.
For Tesla owners: a rival CEO saying the car felt calmer is useful color. It does not let you take your hands off. Check the build on the screen — v14.2, v14.2.2, and later v14.3.x are not the same software.
Featured photo: an XPeng P7i at IAA 2023 (file photo of He’s company, not the Tesla he drove). Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Related: FSD v14.2.2.1 Christmas-week point release · Owner takes on FSD v14.2.2 · FSD v14.3.4 as Robotaxi rehearsal · Tesla’s China FSD training center
