Tesla brings ‘Full Self-Driving’ to China after years of delays as local EV rivals race ahead

After years of delays, Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” capabilities are now available for electric vehicles sold in China, the company announced on Thursday, as China’s domestic EV brands have long introduced proprietary autonomous driving technologies.

Announcement about X, which is also owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, listed China is one of the 10 markets in which the company operates FSD (Supervised) system is now available. Although details are brief, this post marks the first time the automaker has confirmed the availability of this technology in China.

The announcement comes a week after Musk joined US President Donald Trump for his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, along with a delegation of US company executives.

Before Thursday’s announcement, the availability of FSD technology in China was mired in uncertainty.

Unlike US consumers, Tesla customers in China only had access to the company’s Autopilot and Advanced Autopilot systems. Pioneers of the FSD system – only select users had access to limited versions as the automaker awaited regulatory approval.

According to the company statement chinese website“Smart assisted driving” is available on the Model 3 sedan for a one-time fee of 64,000 Chinese yuan ($9,409).

Musk had announced the company’s plans to introduce the FSD system, which was first introduced in the United States. in 2020 – These plans for China since 2024 have not come true as expected.

In July 2024, Musk said in his second-quarter earnings call that he expected regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before the end of that year. Musk’s claimed timeline was further delayed to September 2024 after he stated that the technology was still “pending regulatory approval.”

CFO Vaibhav Taneja told Tesla that as recently as April this year, the company was still awaiting regulatory approval for its FSD system. first quarter earnings call.

However, speculations about the approval of Tesla’s proprietary autonomous driving technology in China have increased in recent days. Bloomberg report The company on Wednesday launched a joint recruitment drive in the country for roles related to autonomous driving technology, such as autopilot test engineers.

While Tesla has been waiting for regulatory approval for years, Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and Xpeng have expanded their own autonomous driving technologies.

Chinese robotaxi companies such as Pony.ai and baiduApollo Go has also made progress in the development of autonomous driving technologies.

In April, Tesla became the fourth largest seller of electric vehicles in the country, after China, BYD and automotive conglomerates. Geely And Cheryaccordingly monthly wholesale sales figures From the China Passenger Vehicle Association.

Tesla’s China representative declined to comment, while China’s embassy in Singapore did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

— CNBC’s Anniek Bao and Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.