Tesla Starts Rolling Out FSD Features In China A Month After Elon Musk Said EV Giant Faces 'Challenges' In The Country

EV giant Tesla Inc. TSLA has begun rolling out new driving assistance features for its vehicles on city streets in China, as promised last year.

What Happened: The features are being rolled out via a software update and are similar to those included under the company’s full self-driving software in the U.S., according to an app notification from the company shared by enthusiasts on social media.

Following the update, the vehicle will identify traffic lights, allow for automatic lane changes, and more, the notification said. The cabin camera will also monitor whether the driver is paying attention to the road while the features are working.

The company is pushing out the update to vehicles in batches on some models, the company said, while adding that the range of compatible models will be gradually expanded.

The new features are limited to customers who paid for FSD. In China, it is priced at 64,000 yuan above the purchase price of the vehicle. It is unclear how many vehicle owners have paid for the service.

Why It Matters: In September, Tesla said that it would roll out FSD in Europe and China in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval.

In January, during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, company CEO Elon Musk said that the company is faced with “challenges” in rolling out the software in China. While China doesn't allow training videos from Tesla vehicles in the country to be transferred back to the U.S., the U.S. government doesn't allow the company to train the software in China, Musk said, terming it "a bit of a quandary." Tesla has been using videos of roads in China on the internet to train the software, he added.

FSD is the advanced version of the company's autopilot driver assistance technology. The name is a misnomer and doesn't allow for completely autonomous driving as of today.

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