Elon Musk visits China as Tesla looks to implement self-driving technology
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Sunday on an unannounced visit, where he was expected to discuss the rollout of full self-driving (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. .
Chinese state media reported that he met with Prime Minister Li Qiang in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla’s development in China could be considered a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation.
“Honored to meet Premier Li Qiang. We have known each other for many years, since the early days of Shanghai,” Musk posted on social media platform X.
Tesla reached a deal with Chinese authorities in 2018 for a plant in Shanghai, its first outside the United States.
The US electric vehicle maker launched FSD, the most autonomous version of its autopilot software, four years ago but has yet to make it available in China, its second-largest market globally, despite customer demand.
Musk said this month in response to a question on X that Tesla could make FSD available to customers in China “very soon.”
Equity analysts at Wedbush called the surprise trip “a major moment for Tesla.”
“While the long-term valuation story at Tesla rests on FSD and autonomy, a key missing piece in that puzzle is Tesla making FSD available in China now appears to be on the doorstep,” Wedbush said in an emailed company report. “
Rival Chinese automakers such as Xpeng 9868.HK are trying to gain an edge on Tesla by introducing similar software.
Tesla has stored all data collected by its Chinese fleet since 2021 in Shanghai as required by Chinese regulators and not transferred back to the United States.
The person said Musk wants to get approval to transfer data collected in the country abroad to train algorithms for his autonomous driving technologies.
Musk’s trip to China, which was first reported by Reuters, was not publicly marked, and the person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, in its report on Musk’s meeting with Li, did not say whether the two discussed FSD or data.
Earlier in the day, a separate report by state radio said Li had visited the ongoing auto show in Beijing and commented on how China’s smart new energy vehicle (NEV) sector has led the market. position and the country will have to work on it. Tough and maintain its advantages.
Musk also met with government official Ren Hongbin, who heads the auto show organizer, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, state media reported.
“It’s good to see electric vehicles making progress in China. In the future, all cars will be electric,” Musk said in a video posted on social media by a user linked to state media.
Late Sunday night, a top Chinese auto association published a list of 76 car models it said it had tested and found to be in line with China’s data protection requirements, among them Tesla’s Model Y and 3 cars .
Musk’s visit comes just a week after he canceled a planned visit to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi citing “too burdensome Tesla obligations.”
The company said this month it would lay off 10% of its global workforce as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for EVs led by Chinese brands.
U.S. auto safety regulators said Friday they have begun an investigation into whether Tesla’s announcement in December of a recall of more than 2 million vehicles in the United States that installed new Autopilot safety measures may have contributed to the crashes. After one series, enough was enough.
Tesla has sold more than 1.7 million cars in China since entering the market a decade ago and the Shanghai factory is its largest globally.
Visited Barada of General Motors
General Motors CEO Mary Barra made an unannounced appearance Friday at the show at the world’s largest auto market, according to two people with knowledge of her schedule. GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also on Friday, Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice president in charge of external relations in China, published a comment on the social media account of state media outlet People’s Daily, arguing that autonomous driving technologies will be the new growth engine for the EV industry.
Tao said Tesla is leading autonomous driving research and development with its “end-to-end neural network” technology and data collected from millions of cars on the road.
According to industry experts, China’s complex traffic conditions, with more pedestrians and cyclists than many other markets, provide more scenarios that are important for training autonomous driving algorithms at faster speeds.
Musk said last week that Tesla would introduce new cheaper models using its existing EV platform and production lines and introduce a new “robotaxi” with self-driving technology. He said on X this month that he would unveil the robotaxi on August 8.
Tesla shares have lost nearly a third of their value since the start of the year, as concerns have grown about the EV maker’s growth path.
Last week, Tesla reported its first decline in quarterly revenue since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic slowed production and deliveries.