Tesla has achieved significant milestone in China, receiving regulatory approvals for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, marking a pivotal development in its expansion in the world’s largest and most competitive electric vehicle (EV) markets. The breakthrough came during CEO Elon Musk’s visit to Beijing,
As we reported earlier today, during his visit Musk engaged in critical discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, focusing on the rollout of Tesla’s FSD technology and addressing the crucial aspect of data security—a longstanding barrier in the Chinese market. China has stringent data security laws that require all data collected by vehicles within its borders to be stored locally.
Tesla’s compliance with these regulations, having localized its data storage in Shanghai since 2021, has been instrumental in gaining the trust of Chinese authorities.
Now the automaker’s cars have passed the country’s rigorous data security assessments. This endorsement is expected to facilitate the removal of previous restrictions on Tesla, enhancing their access to strategic locations and state-backed entities across China.
Helping push them over the line, Tesla has strengthened their partnership with Baidu, a company it has partnered with on mapping in China for several years, but now will utilize the tech giant’s mapping license for data collection on local roads. This collaboration is expected to accelerate the training of Tesla’s driving algorithms, potentially setting a new benchmark for autonomous vehicle technology in China.
While these hurdles have now been overcome, there is no clear timeline for when FSD will be released in China, but there is now a clear path forward for that to happen.
The approvals have helped Tesla (TSLA) share prices, with the stock up nearly 15% on Monday, trading at US$193 per share at the time of publication.
Tesla has met all four requirements of the national automotive data security standards, and various regions have gradually lifted bans on parking and driving.
— Yan Chang (@cyfoxcat) April 28, 2024
1. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical… pic.twitter.com/8q6NdlZoM7
