Tesla Inc. has begun deploying a significant software update to its customers in China, enabling advanced driver-assistance capabilities that closely resemble its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system offered in the United States, Bloomberg reports.
The update, being rolled out in batches, allows Tesla owners to utilize driver-assist features on city streets, according to a company notification released on Tuesday. Tesla stated that the system can guide vehicles through exit ramps and intersections, recognize traffic signals, execute turns, and manage lane changes and speeds.
Initially, the new features will be available on vehicles equipped with HW 4.0 – the latest generation of Tesla’s driving hardware, which has been incorporated into locally manufactured Model Ys and Model 3s since last year, according to sources familiar with the matter. Tesla has indicated that it plans to gradually expand the availability of the driver-assistance features to a wider range of vehicles.
The capabilities are accessible to customers who have paid 64,000 yuan ($8,800) for what Tesla typically calls FSD, although the company has avoided using the term FSD explicitly in its promotional materials for the update in China. It’s important to note that while the company markets these features as advanced self-driving capabilities, they still require constant driver supervision and frequent interventions.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been pursuing regulatory approval for FSD to operate on Chinese roads for several years and had expressed his desire to launch the system in China this year.
Tesla emphasizes that a camera positioned above the rear-view mirror monitors driver attentiveness, and drivers will be prompted to pay attention to the road even when the driver-assistance system is engaged. The video data is processed within the vehicle and is not accessible to Tesla, the company stated.
Musk visited Beijing in April of last year and met with high-ranking officials, including Premier Li Qiang, to discuss the deployment of FSD in China. Subsequently, the company finalized a mapping and navigation agreement with Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc. and satisfied the necessary requirements regarding data-security and privacy.
Despite these advancements, Musk acknowledged during Tesla’s recent quarterly earnings call that the company was facing challenges with FSD in China, citing limitations imposed by both Beijing and Washington on how the system is trained to handle local roads. He mentioned that engineers were addressing these issues by analyzing publicly available street footage from China and utilizing that data for training purposes.
Driver-assistance technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in China, with local EV leader BYD Co. recently unveiling its own system, marketed as “God’s Eye.” BYD offers various tiers of capability and hardware as standard features on vehicles starting at just 69,800 yuan.
Tesla has not disclosed the number of customers in China who have subscribed to FSD. Uptake has been limited due to the company awaiting regulatory approval to fully deploy the features.
