On the afternoon of October 24, regarding the recent controversy over a MONA product manager's use of the term "old-timer," XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) Vice President @ThomasElectricTrain stated on Weibo that it was banter among the product team directed at a few internal core leaders and was absolutely not aimed at any external users.
On October 15, XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) held the MONA L05 pre-sale launch event. At the event, post-2000s product manager Enta repeatedly used the term "old-timer," and the related remarks sparked controversy. In a subsequent apology video, Enta explained that the word "old-timer" is often used as a joke within the team. She also said: "Of course I didn't realize that using this word in a public setting would make people uncomfortable. I might have thought it was just a joke, but to friends who don't know us well, it could sound like something completely different. I sincerely and earnestly apologize to everyone."
XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) Vice President @ThomasElectricTrain said that from beginning to end, the term "old-timer" was banter from the product team toward a few internal core leaders and was completely not directed at any external users. Those jokingly named were Yang Guang, Jiang Wen, Fengtou, and He Xiaopeng, several core leaders in product planning. "Not a single one of these 'old-timers' was displeased. Instead, they repeatedly praised it internally: compared with cookie-cutter recitations of specs, this kind of genuine co-creation process is what best helps users understand the true character of a car." He also said that "old-timer" itself is not off-putting; it is the "old-timer vibe" in some people that is disgusting, and there should be less verbal attacks on post-2000s individuals. More lamentable than the incident itself is that after the apology video was released, some self-media outlets treated it like a treasure and blew it out of proportion, escalating from criticism of a post-2000s young woman to a denial of an entire young generation, then slapping on the label of product "marketing hype," with remarkable sophistication and slickness. A vivid and authentic youthful expression was forced into a rigid framework for harsh condemnation and interpreted with the greatest malice, and that is precisely the disgusting "old-timer vibe." He revealed that when the MONA L05 officially goes on sale, Enta will still stand on the launch stage and, together with product manager Ouyang Nana and "old-timer representative" He Xiaopeng, jointly present the explanation.
Comments