XPeng’s New SUV Launch Reveals Bigger Tesla Challenge With Level 4 Autonomy and In-House AI Foundation Model Planned By 2028: Report

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

XPeng Inc. on Thursday outlined a path to Level 4 autonomous driving by 2028 as its Mona L03 carries the automaker’s latest artificial-intelligence platform into China and Europe, sharpening its challenge to Tesla Inc..

XPeng Details Next-Generation AI Platform

According to a report by ElectricVehicles.com, the roadmap advances from XPeng’s current SEPA 3.0 architecture to SEPA 4.0, which the company says will combine Level 4 autonomy, an in-house AI foundation model and “embodied AI” across vehicles and robots. The L03 serves as the first global showcase for SEPA 3.0, pairing XPeng’s second-generation Vision-Language-Action system with its Turing chips.

Don’t Miss:

XPeng opened Chinese pre-sales at 143,800 yuan, or about $21,200. Every trim includes a Turing chip, while higher versions run the full VLA system on multiple processors. The launch follows XPeng’s strongest month of 2026, when it delivered 40,126 vehicles in June, up 16% from a year earlier.

L03 Sharpens Challenge To Tesla FSD

The roadmap also turns the L03 into a test of Tesla’s lead in assisted driving. XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng has argued that VLA performs better than FSD on narrow roads and in difficult situations. Reuters reported in May that XPeng benchmarks VLA 2.0 against Tesla’s FSD v14, while Tesla’s latest system still lacked Chinese regulatory approval.

Reuters previously described Tesla FSD and comparable Chinese systems as Level 2 driver-assistance products, meaning drivers must remain attentive and ready to intervene. XPeng’s Level 4 target would allow a vehicle to drive without human control under defined conditions, but the company has not released SEPA 4.0 performance details.

See Also: Avoid the #1 Investing Mistake: How Your ‘Safe’ Holdings Could Be Costing You Big Time

AI Platform Expands Beyond Passenger Cars

XPeng has already widened the technology beyond its own cars. Volkswagen AG began mass-producing its first jointly developed XPeng-based model in March, using XPeng’s autonomous driving systems and Turing AI chips.

The company is also building robotaxis, humanoid robots and flying cars around the VLA framework.

Image via Shutterstock

Read Next: 

Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market

Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.

Arrived

Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.

Realberry

Institutional-quality real estate has traditionally been difficult for individual investors to access. Realberry gives accredited investors direct access to private real estate opportunities backed by a team with 35 years of experience, $3.4 billion in assets under management, and $481 million in cumulative distributions paid to investors as of Q4 2025, according to the company. With a portfolio spanning 13 million square feet across seven U.S. states, Realberry focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing real estate with an emphasis on long-term value creation while its principals often invest alongside clients to help align interests.

FarmTogether

Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors, FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.

Immersed

Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.

Fundrise

Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.

Mode Mobile

Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream. 

EquityMultiple 

For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.