The journey began at 6:30 a.m. on April 17 in Beijing and ended later the same day in Shanghai after roughly 15 hours, with Lei joined by three senior executives from Xiaomi.

The entire journey was livestreamed, showing real-time data including energy consumption, battery status, and the performance of Xiaomi’s HAD advanced driver assistance system.

The vehicle recorded an average energy consumption of 14.6 kWh per 100 kilometers and arrived with 3% battery remaining.

Lei said the car stopped only once to recharge during the trip, Shanghai Daily reported.

Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun. Photo from X

During the livestream he said the experience is stressful for him as he will be talking for 15 hours and "the biggest psychological burden is not to say anything wrong."

"If you saysomething wrong, they might be caught by some haters and then be criticized." some people may take advantage of it and keep attacking," he said.

He said Xiaomi had recently faced negative public opinion and warned that remaining silent could deepen misunderstandings, prompting him to livestream the drive to show the real capabilities of its cars and products.

Earlier in April, he livestreamed another session with car experts who joined him in dismantling the SU7 Pro sedan, with the 3.5-hour broadcast breaking the vehicle down to the component level, according to Car News China.

The 2026 Xiaomi SU7. Photo courtesy of Xiaomi

The 2026 version of the SU7, launched in March, starts at 219,900 yuan (US$31,900), with the Pro and Max variants priced at 249,900 yuan and 303,900 yuan, respectively, according to the South China Morning Post.

The first-generation SU7 debuted on March 28, 2024, receiving 88,898 orders within 24 hours.

In 2025, Xiaomi delivered more than 246,400 units, outselling the Tesla Model 3 to become China’s best-selling premium electric sedan priced above 200,000 yuan.