Tesla China has just confirmed to a local media outlet that the FSD Beta rollout is now underway in the world’s largest auto market. However, it must be noted that the company has yet to secure the necessary government approvals for its autonomous driving technology to hit the Chinese roads.
Progress
The confirmation came from the company itself as it responded to a CLS CN reporter’s inquiry (via @ray4tesla) about the FSD Beta launch.
However, the Musk-led automaker has yet to disclose the exact implementation date of its FSD plans in China. It is interesting to note some speculations that the Chinese launch may coincide with the FSD Beta 12 update, potentially by December 2023 or January 2024.
FSD Beta description appearance to the latest manual
Tesla North also reported the screenshots it acquired from a Chinese source, showing the FSD suite in the owner’s online manual. However, Tesla China immediately removed the feature from the website.
The sudden appearance of the FSD Beta description in the owner’s manual in China significantly ignited speculations that autonomous driving technology is indeed getting closer to reaching the country.
As of now, the FSD Beta is only available in Canada and the US for a limited pool of testers. Now that we have already got Tesla China’s confirmation, it seems the Chinese Government has started to warm up to the idea of Tesla testing the FSD Beta on its roads.
Challenges
Tesla must still secure crucial permission from Chinese regulators before officially launching the FSD in the country.
China is known to be extremely stringent when it comes to such technologies, as it has a huge sense of protectiveness when it comes to national safety.
This process is one of the hardest that Tesla needs to overcome to successfully expand the reach of its FSD Beta to other regions. Some Chinese Government departments previously released a joint notice prohibiting mass-produced vehicles with L3 and L4 autonomous driving tech to launch road tests in limited areas, Drive Tesla Canada reported.
Nonetheless, this significant development is unsurprising, given Tesla’s major efforts to court the Chinese Government. It built data centers in the country to adhere to local rules and regulations, as indicated by autoevolution. Tesla’s FSD Beta is still far from being a perfect autonomous driving technology, but it continues to improve over time.
