The Bottom Line Upfront
Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited Beijing on an unannounced trip to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving software and data transfer permissions with Chinese officials, including Premier Li Qiang. Musk aims to make the FSD software available in China and obtain approval to transfer data collected in the country overseas for training autonomous driving algorithms.
The Breakdown
Musk's visit to China highlights the importance of the Chinese market for Tesla and the company's efforts to expand its autonomous driving technology in the country. It also indicates the potential for increased collaboration between the US and China in the electric vehicle sector.
- Musk met with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, where Li praised Tesla's development in China as a successful example of US-China economic cooperation.
- Musk hopes to roll out the Full Self-Driving software in China, which has been available in other markets for four years.
- Chinese automakers like Xpeng have been competing with Tesla by launching similar autonomous driving software.
- Musk's visit coincides with the Beijing auto show, where Tesla does not have a booth and has not attended since 2021.
- Tesla has been storing all data collected by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai as required by Chinese regulators and has not transferred any back to the US.
- Musk's visit comes after the cancellation of his planned trip to India, citing "very heavy Tesla obligations."
