During a trip to China on Sunday, Elon Musk sealed the upcoming launch of Tesla’s hands-free self-driving technology in the country. Waiting for Europe and France, where regulatory progress is groping.
The trip was short for Elon Musk, but it doesn’t seem to have been in vain. The billionaire, who met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in China on Sunday, is said to have managed to remove all regulatory hurdles that prevented Tesla from rolling out full autonomous driving (FSD) in China. In return, the owner of the automaker had to make concessions.
For true autonomous driving in China, Tesla will integrate “Chinese Google Maps” into its cars
As we know, China is a key market for Tesla, the second-largest manufacturer, to be exact. So, inevitably, Elon Musk did not go to Beijing this Sunday, April 28, 2024 to “string pearls”, you will forgive the expression.
No, on the spot, Elon Musk discussed the implementation of the FSD mode of his Autopilot software, but also data transfer. To extend this last point, Tesla has apparently signed a deal with the “Chinese Google”, Baidu, for the company to use its mapping license (Baidu Maps) to collect data on local public roads.
Obviously, this element was a fundamental step that could validate the arrival of the Full Self-Driving mode in the country. This allows for “hands-free” driving, with a vehicle able to move from point A to point B without human intervention. In addition, the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were reportedly tested and found to comply with Beijing’s data security requirements.
Tesla wants to transfer data to the US, but Beijing is adamant
For China, which has been technologically shaken by the United States, which is now reportedly considering the possibility of removing drone giant DJI, the issue of security and data compliance has been paramount. Its leaders had to find common ground that could satisfy all parties, as the demand for the SDF was very strong in the Middle Kingdom.
It should be remembered that Beijing has been requesting, for three years now, that Tesla store all the data collected in the country in Shanghai. Unlike in Europe, where the issue of data transfer is becoming increasingly problematic, there is no debate in China. Tesla cannot transfer data to the United States.
However, Elon Musk would not have completely let go of the issue on this last point. The SpaceX owner would like to get relocation permission to train algorithms for its self-driving technologies. We do not know whether he has any guarantees in this regard. Meanwhile, China may be ahead of Europe in implementing FSD technology, despite some regulatory progress in recent weeks on the Old Continent.