Chinese firm Xpeng builds driverless cabs, likely to challenge Tesla’s FSD software in AI raceThe EV maker has embarked on mass production of the robotaxis using its own chips and plans to trial the tech before the end of the year2-MIN READ2-MIN0ListenPublished: 10:08am, 19 May 2026Updated: 11:35am, 19 May 2026Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng has begun mass production of autonomous cabs powered by its own chips, likely to mount yet another challenge on Tesla as both companies pursue a leading position in self-driving.Robotaxis have become the latest area where the two firms could go head-to-head, after smart EV and humanoid robot, as the booming development of physical Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies intensifies.Guangzhou-based Xpeng said its robotaxis would have Level 4 (L4) self-driving capabilities and be powered by four of its self-developed Turing AI chips.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS137
ENT7
TUE · 2026-05-19 · 02:08 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0519-77397
NSR-2026-0519-77397News Report·EN·Technology
Chinese firm Xpeng builds driverless cabs, likely to challenge Tesla’s FSD software in AI race
Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng has started mass production of autonomous cabs, a move that positions it to compete with Tesla in the self-driving technology race. These robotaxis, developed by the Guangzhou-based company, will feature Level 4 (L4) self-driving capabilities and are powered by Xpeng's self-developed Turing AI chips.
Daniel RenSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-05-19 · 02:08 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
137words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
7entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng has started mass production of autonomous cabs, a move that positions it to compete with Tesla in the self-driving technology race. These robotaxis, developed by the Guangzhou-based company, will feature Level 4 (L4) self-driving capabilities and are powered by Xpeng's self-developed Turing AI chips. This development marks robotaxis as a new battleground for the two firms, alongside smart EVs and humanoid robots, as physical artificial intelligence technologies advance rapidly. Xpeng plans to trial this technology before the end of the year.
Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 5Entities 7
§ 02
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Technology
Economic Impact
Tone
Mixed Tone
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.70 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
5 extracted01
Xpeng's robotaxis will be powered by four of its self-developed Turing AI chips.
factualXpeng
Confidence
0.90
02
Xpeng's robotaxis will have level 4 (L4) self-driving capabilities.
factualXpeng
Confidence
0.90
03
Chinese firm Xpeng has begun mass production of autonomous cabs.
factualXpeng
Confidence
0.90
04
Robotaxis have become the latest area where Xpeng and Tesla could go head-to-head.
factualarticle
Confidence
0.80
05
Xpeng's driverless cabs are likely to challenge Tesla's FSD software.
predictionarticle
Confidence
0.60
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 137 words§ 05
Entities
7 identifiedKey playerOppositionContextPositiveNeutralNegative
Organizations3
§ 06
Keywords & salience
10 termstesla
1.00
xpeng
1.00
driverless cabs
1.00
autonomous cabs
0.90
ai race
0.90
robotaxis
0.80
self-driving
0.80
artificial intelligence
0.70
fsd software
0.60
electric vehicle
0.50
§ 07
Topic connections
Interactive graph Network visualization showing 20 related topics
View Full Graph Person Organization Location Event|Click node to navigate|Edge numbers = shared articles