Tesla outperforms BYD in China safety test

Tesla beats rivals BYD, Xiaomi, and Huawei, in a Chinese highway evaluation of driver‑assistance systems, based on data released by Dcar (the automotive arm of TikTok parent ByteDance) together with state broadcaster CCTV.

CCTV and Dcar put level 2 advanced driver‑assist packages from more than twenty EV makers through simulations of high‑risk situations on both expressways and urban roads, judging how each system coped under demanding conditions.

The clips shared by Dcar rapidly circulated across Chinese social networks, according to Reuters.

On the expressway portion, Tesla claimed the top spot among 36 contenders, with its Model 3 and Model X navigating five of the six test scenarios successfully. In contrast, BYD’s Denza Z9GT and the Huawei‑supported Aito M9 each stumbled in three challenges, while Xiaomi’s SU7 cleared just one.

On Friday, HIMA, the Huawei‑led auto alliance, took to Weibo to decline any remarks on the “so‑called test.”

Tesla tops China test despite data restrictions

“Due to laws against data export, Tesla achieved the top results in China despite having no local training data,” said Elon Musk on his X account on Friday.

Musk has referred to Tesla’s situation as a “quandary,” highlighting that U.S. regulations prevent its AI software from being trained in China. The company is pursuing permission to transfer data collected in Shanghai back to the United States for further algorithm refinement.

Wang Yao, deputy chief engineer at the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told a forum in Shanghai earlier this month that local marques need to admit they’re trailing Tesla’s assisted‑driving capabilities.

Reflecting on a demo in which a Tesla Model Y autonomously traveled from its Austin, Texas factory to a customer roughly thirty minutes away, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun remarked, “we will continue to learn” from Tesla’s pioneering work.

This Dcar assessment coincided with rising worries over driver‑assist safety in China. In March, a Xiaomi SU7 was involved in a highway crash that killed three people.

Chinese regulators crack down on overhyped driver-assist marketing

Chinese state media pointed to overhyped marketing as a culprit in drivers misusing these systems. Regulators have since banned terms like “smart driving” and “autonomous driving” in ads for driver‑aid features.

This week, the public security ministry announced it will define legal responsibilities for a technology that has not yet reached true autonomy and warned that distracted drivers face serious safety and liability risks when relying on assisted‑driving modes.

Xiaomi saw its EV order tally dip in the wake of the March accident, but that slump proved temporary. Its newest electric SUV, introduced last month, quickly attracted a robust first wave of buyers.

Meanwhile, deliveries of China‑produced Tesla EVs in June ticked up 0.8% year‑on‑year, ending an eight‑month slide, even as they remained under pressure on a quarterly basis from more affordably priced local alternatives.