There are certain unwritten rules of car culture. You don’t put wings on FWD cars, you don’t put “baby on board” stickers on a Porsche and you definitely, absolutely, under no circumstances, nerf 648 horsepower from someone’s electric super-sedan via software update.
But apparently, Xiaomi missed the memo.
The Chinese tech giant-turned-automaker recently did the unthinkable to its flagship EV, the SU7 Ultra—a ballistic, 1,548-horsepower road rocket that’s basically what happens when you give a smartphone company a blank check and a grudge against Tesla. For reference, this thing launches from zero to 60 MPH in 1.98 seconds. That’s hypercar territory. That’s “my organs are in the back seat now” acceleration.
Or, was.
Because with a wave of its digital wand—and an over-the-air update—Xiaomi turned the Ultra into the… Moderately Fast? The Kinda Spicy? The SU7 Mids? Suddenly, instead of 1,548 horses galloping under the hood, you were left with just 900.
Yes, 900 horsepower is still ridiculous. It’s enough to make a Mustang driver rethink their life choices. But it’s not what people paid for. Not when you shelled out the equivalent of ₹56L expecting to vaporize stoplights and humble Ferraris between errands.
“For safety,” Xiaomi said. Apparently, 1,500+ horsepower is “unsuitable for road conditions.” And maybe it is—but so are most SUVs driven like rally cars in suburban grocery store parking lots. That doesn’t mean we nerf those.
Adding salt to the wound, Xiaomi also introduced a 60-second wait time for launch control. Because nothing says performance like pulling up to a red light, thumbing your watch, and whispering to the guy in the next lane, “Just you wait.”
And if you still wanted the full firepower? You had to take the car to an approved racetrack and complete a “qualifying mode lap time assessment.” Because nothing screams freedom of ownership like having to prove to your car that you’re worthy of its abilities. It’s like buying a jet ski and being told you can only use turbo mode if you pass a swimming test.
As you might imagine, owners were not thrilled. Forums lit up. Social media combusted. Some people were pissed. Others were like, “Well, maybe Xiaomi has a point,” which is probably the EV owner version of Stockholm Syndrome.
Eventually, Xiaomi blinked. The company reversed the horsepower cut, issued a statement thanking customers for their “passionate feedback,” and promised to be more transparent in the future. Translation: We tried to quietly take away nearly half your power and got roasted so hard we smelled burnt plastic.
But the real takeaway here isn’t just “don’t mess with horsepower.” It’s a stark reminder of the strange future we’re driving into: one where cars are no longer just machines—they’re gadgets. Rolling apps. And just like your phone can lose headphone jacks or gain new spyware with an update, your car can now unlearn how to go fast.
And that should terrify us just a little. Because one day, you might wake up and find your track beast now requires a subscription to use third gear.
The SU7 saga may have ended with the power restored, but the message is clear: in the age of software-defined everything, you don’t own your car—you license the vibes.
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