Can Xpeng Motors Eat Tesla’s Lunch in Humanoid Robots the Way BYD Did in EVs?

Last week, Tesla (TSLA) held its annual shareholder meeting, which garnered attention for the approval of CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion compensation. At that event, Musk also discussed the company’s physical artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, including the Optimus humanoid and robotaxis. The Tesla CEO also talked about the possibility of building a “gigantic” fab factory to meet the soaring demand for chips that are powering the AI revolution.

Last week only, Xpeng Motors (XPEV) – which I have stated previously is the best contender to become the “Tesla of China” – held its AI day. The theme was physical AI, and the company discussed its Turing chips, unveiled its “most human-like” IRON humanoid (whose mass production is expected to commence by the end of 2026), launched its VLA 2.0 large model, and announced three robotaxi models. It further said that it has begun mass production of its flying car.