In 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that his company decided to adopt an open format with their patents, thus opening the possibility of any third-party companies to use them for further development and adaptation in the electric cars. And finally, there was the first Chinese “clone” of the electric car Tesla. Chinese automaker Xiaopeng Motors introduced the “beta version” of its first all-electric crossover Xpeng.
As the portal Electrek, it is difficult to estimate which patents Tesla company Xiaopeng Motors used in their novelty, but at first glance it becomes clear that it is clearly not solely limited to the technical features. At the sight of Chinese electric crossover from the feeling that there can be traced a line Model X.
With regard to those technical features, the crossover Xiaopeng uses the same battery standard 18650 that Tesla, only unlike the latter, which itself produces its own batteries, the Chinese electric vehicle uses a lithium-ion battery production, Korean company Samsung. In the result, the vehicle has less reserve, offering only 300 kilometers on a single charge, unlike the 474 miles from Tesla.
Interior Tesla Model X (top) vs Xpeng (bottom). The similarity is clearly seen
Central panel of Chinese electric cars, like Tesla Model X is assigned to a large LCD screen. In addition, Chinese automaker promises to soon provide a digital driver assistance system, and to integrate the autonomic management features that are also provided by Tesla’s Autopilot system. Interestingly, the company recently hired Lee Joon Joo, who previously worked at Tesla as head of Department of development of machine-learning techniques, to create a system Autopilot “Tesla”.
At the moment, Xiaopeng gathered a batch of 15 electric vehicles Xpeng, and now is looking for investment to expand production. The electric car will be assembled at a factory of Zhengzhou city. This summer, the company managed to raise about $ 320 million investment. However, the Chinese carmaker wants to find another $ 1.4 billion to reach annual production of 100,000 electric vehicles.
Presented by the Chinese “clone” Tesla Model X
Nikolai Khizhnyak