You used exp as if it were a constant (e) that is raised to a power. Instead, you should have used it as a function.
You also used x and y instead of X and Y, when calculating Z.
x=-2:0.2:2;
y=x;
[X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y);
Z=X.*exp(-(X.^2+Y.^2));
figure
contour(X,Y,Z)
figure
surf(X,Y,Z)
