Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, went to China for a surprise visit on Sunday (April 28), as reported by Reuters. China is Tesla’s second-biggest market for electric vehicles. Musk’s trip to India was postponed last week due to Tesla commitments. He had plans to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce Tesla’s entry into the Indian market.
Now in China, Musk wants to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing to talk about deploying Full-Self Driving (FSD) software and getting approval to use data collected in China to improve Tesla’s self-driving technology.
Musk responded to a question on social media platform X by mentioning that Tesla might offer Full-Self Driving (FSD) to customers in China “very soon.” It’s worth noting that Musk’s trip to China was not widely publicised.
As reported by Reuters, Tesla has been storing all data gathered by its fleet in China in Shanghai since 2021, as mandated by Chinese regulators, and hasn’t transferred any data back to the United States.
What’s the FSD software?
The American electric vehicle manufacturer introduced Full-Self Driving (FSD), the most advanced version of its Autopilot software, four years ago. However, it has not yet released it in China, despite customer requests for its availability.
Musk’s visit aligns with the Beijing autoshow, which started last week and concludes on May 4. Tesla does not have a presence at China’s largest autoshow this year, having last participated in 2021. Instead, the company has announced intentions to use its current factories to manufacture new and more cost-effective vehicles.
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As a result, plans for constructing new factories in Mexico and India are uncertain, at least for the foreseeable future.
(With inputs from agencies)