Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly has won tentative approval for introducing Full Self-Driving in China, clearing key hurdles after meeting with top government official in a surprise visit Sunday. That could provide a key boost for Tesla, which is struggling with weaker demand as well as growing FSD concerns at home. Tesla stock jumped early Monday.
Beijing has given its preliminary blessing for Tesla to launch FSD in China, The Wall Street Journal reported early Monday.
On Sunday, Musk met with China Premier Li Qiang. Li said Tesla's growth in China is "a successful example of Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation", the Chinese state broadcaster reported Sunday.
Tesla has cleared Beijing's data security tests. thee China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced shortly after the Musk-Li meeting. As a result, Chinese local authorities lifted restrictions on Tesla vehicles from certain areas.
Tesla will team up with Baidu, which licensing mapping data and its lane-level navigation service for FSD, which isn't capable of self-driving. Baidu stock jumped early Monday.
It's unclear if the Baidu deal means that Tesla won't be allowed to export China FSD data back to the U.S.
On Tesla's April 23 earnings call, Musk said the EV giant aims to release FSD "as a supervised autonomy system in any market that — where we can get regulatory approval for that, which we think includes China."
Tesla has not said when FSD might be launched. But its official China website has changed FSD from "to be launched later" to "coming soon."
It's unclear how much Tesla might charge for FSD in China, given that advanced driver-assistance systems are increasingly common. Actual robotaxis are rolling out as well. But it could help shore up Tesla EV pricing and demand.
Tesla's China sales are struggling in the face of intense competition and aggressive pricing. Tesla itself announced new price cuts earlier this month.
China rivals have touted a slew of new models, often with ADAS systems, at the ongoing Beijing Auto Show. Tesla, which has no new EVs to show off, is not taking part.
Musk did not visit the Beijing Auto Show or the Tesla Shanghai factory.
Tesla Stock
Early Monday, Tesla stock surged nearly 11%, making a decisive move above the 10-week moving average. That's served as key resistance for Tesla in 2024.
TSLA stock soared 14.4% last week to 168.29, reversing higher from a 15-month low. The EV giant's Q1 EPS missed lowered expectations, but investors cheered Tesla's plans for "affordable" EVs while Elon Musk touted robotaxis and predicted higher deliveries in 2024.
Shares fell 1.1% on Friday.
Late Thursday, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said it was opening a new probe of Tesla self-driving systems amid concerns that a 2023 move to improve driver monitoring and attention was falling short. The NHTSA also appeared to implicitly pin part of the blame for Autopilot and FSD accidents on Tesla, not just the driver.
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