Elon Musk travels to China as Tesla looks to implement self-driving technology

Elon Musk travels to China as Tesla looks to implement self-driving technology

According to the source, Musk is trying to get permission to send data gathered domestically to another nation in order to train algorithms for its autonomous driving capabilities.

Regarding Musk's discussion with Li, the Chinese official broadcaster CCTV did not specify if the two had spoken about data or FSD.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk (TSLA.O) is scheduled to meet with top authorities in Beijing on Sunday to discuss the release of Full Self-Driving software and authorization to send data outside.

Premier Li Qiang informed Musk that Tesla's growth in China may be considered a model of US-China economic and trade cooperation, according to Chinese official media, when they met in Beijing.

The American manufacturer of electric vehicles introduced Full Self-Driving, or FSD, the most advanced version of its Autopilot software, four years ago. However, in spite of requests from consumers, it has not yet made FSD accessible in China, which is its second-largest market worldwide.

In answer to a question on social media site X this month, Musk said that Tesla would make FSD accessible to consumers in China "very soon".

By releasing comparable software, rival Chinese manufacturers like Xpeng 9868.HK have been attempting to outmaneuver Tesla.

According to the source, Musk is trying to get permission to send data gathered domestically to another nation in order to train algorithms for its autonomous driving capabilities.

In accordance with Chinese regulatory requirements, Tesla has been storing all data gathered by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai since 2021 and has not moved any data back to the US.

Musk's trip to China, which was first made public by Reuters, was not announced publicly, and the speaker only agreed to remain anonymous as they lacked the proper authorization to interact with the media. When asked for a response, Tesla did not answer right away.

Regarding Musk's discussion with Li, the Chinese official broadcaster CCTV did not specify if the two had spoken about data or FSD.

Earlier in the day, a different report on official radio reported that Li had attended the current Beijing auto show and made remarks on how China's smart new energy vehicle (NEV) industry had become the market leader and that the nation needed to keep up its advantages.

According to state media, Musk also had a meeting with Ren Hongbin, a government official who is in charge of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which is in charge of organizing the Beijing car show.

It's encouraging to see China advancing with electric cars. The future belongs to electric vehicles," Musk said in a video that a person connected to state media uploaded to social media.

Just over a week has passed since Musk postponed his intended travel to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to "very heavy Tesla obligations."

This month, the firm said that it will relieve 10% of its worldwide staff due to declining sales and an increasingly intense pricing battle for electric vehicles (EVs) driven by Chinese companies.

Following a slew of accidents, U.S. auto safety officials stated on Friday that they had launched an inquiry into whether Tesla's December announcement to install additional Autopilot protections on over 2 million US cars was sufficient.

landed in Beijing.

According to Chinese flight monitoring software Flight Manager, a Gulfstream private jet registered to Falcon Landing, a business associated with SpaceX and Tesla, touched down at Beijing Capital Airport on Sunday at 06:03 GMT. The aircraft's tail number is N272BG.

During his most recent journey to China, which took place over a year ago, Musk traveled by N628TS, his primary aircraft, to China. During that trip, he visited Tesla's Shanghai plant and had meetings with Chinese government officials in Beijing.

Since entering the market a decade ago, Tesla has sold more than 1.7 million vehicles in China, and its Shanghai plant is the biggest in the world.

Musk's visit falls on the same week as the Beijing car show, which runs through May 4. The biggest car show in China is not home to a Tesla stand, as the company last participated in 2021.

Mary Barra, the CEO of GM GM.N, surprised everyone by stopping by the world's largest car show on Friday, according to two individuals who are aware of her itinerary. GM did not answer a request for comment right away.

Additionally on Friday, Grace Tao, vice president of Tesla responsible for external relations in China, posted a statement on People's Daily's social media account, stating that autonomous driving technology will be the next big thing driving the electric vehicle (EV) industry's development.

According to Tao's post, Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving research and development, using data gathered from millions of on-road vehicles and its "end-to-end neural network" technology.

According to industry analysts, China's complex traffic circumstances, which include a higher number of pedestrians and bicycles than in many other countries, provide more scenarios that are essential for training autonomous driving algorithms more quickly.

Using its existing EV platforms and manufacturing lines, Musk stated last week that Tesla would launch new, less expensive models and provide a new "robotaxi" with self-driving capabilities. This month, he said on X that on August 8, he will reveal the robotaxi.

Since the year began, Tesla's stock price has dropped by about a third as investors' fears over the EV manufacturer's growth trajectory have risen. Following the COVID-19 pandemic-related delays in manufacturing and delivery in 2020, Tesla revealed this week that its quarterly sales had decreased for the first time.