Elon Musk, CEO of electric-car maker Tesla, arrived in Beijing for an unannounced visit on Sunday. During his stay, he is expected to meet with government officials to discuss the introduction of self-driving software and seek permission to move data outside of China. According to Chinese state media, Premier Li Qiang praised Tesla’s growth in China as a successful example of economic and trade cooperation with the United States.
Tesla has been keeping data collected in China on servers in Beijing since 2021 to comply with Chinese regulations. However, Elon Musk recently indicated on social media that Tesla may bring Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology to China “very soon.” The introduction of FSD software would be a significant move for Tesla as it competes with local electric car manufacturers in the Chinese market. Although Tesla introduced its most autonomous version of Autopilot technology four years ago, it has yet to bring it to China.
Transferring data from China is crucial for training Tesla’s algorithms for self-driving. While Elon Musk’s visit highlights the company’s ambitions to expand its presence in the Chinese market and further develop technology for autonomous driving, it remains uncertain whether Tesla will be able to comply with Chinese regulations and bring FSD software to the country anytime soon.