SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a surprise visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Despite customer demand, Tesla has not introduced its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology in China, its second-largest market worldwide. The delay highlights challenges in deploying autonomous driving systems across different regions.
Rival Chinese automakers such as Xpeng have been seeking to gain an advantage over Tesla by rolling out similar software.
Musk aims to gain approval to transfer collected data from China abroad for training Tesla’s autonomous driving algorithms.
Since 2021, Tesla has complied with Chinese regulations by storing data collected by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai. There has been no transfer of this data to the United States.
Musk’s visit to China, initially reported by Reuters, was not publicly announced. The individual who disclosed this information preferred anonymity due to lack of authorization. Tesla has yet to respond to media inquiries.
“It is good to see electric vehicles making progress in China. All cars will be electric in the future,” Musk said in a video posted on social media by a user affiliated with state media.
Musk’s trip came just over a week after he scrapped a planned visit to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing “very heavy 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.
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