Musk said this month Tesla may make FSD available to customers in China “very soon”, in response to a query on social media platform X.
Rival Chinese automakers such as Xpeng (9868.HK)New Tab, opens new tab have been seeking to gain an advantage over Tesla by rolling out similar software.
Musk is looking to obtain approval to transfer data collected in the country abroad to train algorithms for its autonomous driving technologies, the person said.
Musk’s visit to China, first reported by Reuters, was not flagged publicly and the person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with media.
All cars will be electric in the future,” Musk said in a video posted on social media by a user affiliated with state media.
Musk’s visit coincides with the Beijing auto show, which opened last week and ends on May 4.
Musk said last week Tesla would introduce new, cheaper models using its current EV platforms and production lines and would offer a new “robotaxi” with self-driving technology.
Last week, Tesla reported its first decline in quarterly revenue since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic slowed production and deliveries.
Reuters, April 28, Shanghai: Tesla (TSLA). O)New Tab, opens new tab CEO Elon Musk made an unexpected trip to Beijing on Sunday. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, he is anticipated to meet with senior officials to discuss the release of Full Self-Driving software and authorization to send data abroad.
The US. s. The manufacturer of electric vehicles introduced Full Self-Driving, or FSD, the most autonomous version of its Autopilot software, four years ago. However, in spite of customer requests, the company has not yet made FSD available in China, which is its second-largest market worldwide.
In response to a question on social media platform X this month, Musk stated that Tesla might make FSD available to customers in China “very soon.”.
Chinese rival manufacturers, including Xpeng (9868. By releasing comparable software, HK)New Tab, opens new tab have been attempting to outperform Tesla.
The person stated that Musk is seeking permission to send data gathered domestically to another country in order to train algorithms for its autonomous driving technologies.
According to Chinese regulators, Tesla has been storing all data gathered by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai since 2021 and has not transferred any data back to the United States.
Speaking under oath because they were not authorized to speak with the media, the individual provided information about Musk’s visit to China, which was first made public by Reuters. An inquiry for comment from Tesla was not immediately answered.
According to official media, Musk is scheduled to meet with Ren Hongbin, a government official who oversees the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which is in charge of organizing the ongoing Beijing auto show, on Sunday afternoon.
It’s encouraging to see China advancing with electric vehicles. “In the future, all cars will be electric,” Musk declared in a video that a user connected to state media shared on social media.
Within a week of his original plan to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, Musk canceled it due to “very heavy Tesla obligations.”. “.
This month, the company announced that it will lay off 10% of its global workforce due to declining sales and an increasingly intense price war for electric vehicles (EVs) that is being driven by Chinese brands.
You. s. On Friday, officials in charge of vehicle safety announced that they had initiated an inquiry into whether Tesla’s recall of over 2 million cars in the U.S. s. was sufficient to implement the additional Autopilot safety measures that were announced in December after several crashes.
landed in Beijing.
According to the Chinese flight tracking app Flight Manager, a Gulfstream private jet registered to Falcon Landing, a business associated with SpaceX and Tesla, touched down at Beijing Capital Airport on Sunday at 06:03 GMT. The aircraft’s tail number is N272BG.
Musk’s primary aircraft, N628TS, is registered under Falcon Landing and was utilized for his most recent trip to China almost a year ago. During that trip, he visited Tesla’s Shanghai factory and had meetings with Chinese government officials in Beijing.
Since entering the market a decade ago, Tesla has sold more than 1 million cars in China, and its Shanghai factory is the largest location worldwide.
Musk’s visit falls during the Beijing Auto Show, which began last week and runs through May 4. Tesla last participated in China’s biggest auto show in 2021; the company does not have a booth there.
GM (GM. N)New Tab, opens new tab CEO Mary Barra paid an unexpected visit to the show on Friday in the largest auto market globally, as per the accounts of two individuals who are aware of her itinerary. A request for comment from GM was not answered right away.
Additionally on Friday, autonomous driving technologies were argued to be the new growth engine for the electric vehicle (EV) industry by Grace Tao, vice president of Tesla and head of external relations in China, in a commentary posted on People’s Daily’s social media account.
According to Tao’s statement in the article, Tesla is at the forefront of research and development for autonomous driving thanks to its “end-to-end neural network” technology and the information gathered from millions of moving cars.
Industry experts claim that more scenarios are available in China’s complex traffic conditions—which include a higher number of cyclists and pedestrians than in many other markets—for the faster training of autonomous driving algorithms.
Using its current EV platforms and production lines, Musk said last week that Tesla will launch new, less expensive models and offer a new “robotaxi” with self-driving capabilities. This month, he announced on X that he would reveal the robotaxi on August. 8.
Since the year began, Tesla’s stock price has dropped by nearly a third as investors’ concerns regarding the EV manufacturer’s growth trajectory have grown. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic slowing production and deliveries, Tesla saw its first quarterly revenue decline since 2020 last week.
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Jamie Freed handled editing; Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh reported.
