In Short:
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, made a surprise visit to China, the second biggest market for electric vehicles. He postponed his visit to India due to Tesla’s commitments. In China, he plans to meet officials to discuss the Full-Self Driving software and seek approval to transfer data to train autonomous driving algorithms. Tesla has stored data collected in China in compliance with regulations and may soon offer FSD to customers in the country.
Elon Musk Makes Surprise Visit to China
Guess who decided to hop on a plane and head to China? That’s right, none other than Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself! According to Reuters, Musk made a surprise visit to China, the second-biggest market for the electric vehicle giant.
Change in Plans
This unexpected trip comes just a week after Musk had to postpone his visit to India due to ‘Tesla obligations.’ The plan was to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce Tesla’s entry into the Indian market.
- Also read: Tesla in talks with Reliance to set up EV manufacturing arm in India
Focus on Full-Self Driving Software
During his time in China, Musk is eager to meet with senior Chinese officials in Beijing. The main agenda? Discussing the rollout of Full-Self Driving (FSD) software in China and getting approval to transfer data collected in the country abroad. This data will be used to train algorithms for Tesla’s autonomous driving technologies.
Responding to a question on social media, Musk hinted that FSD could soon be available to customers in China. Despite the big plans, Musk’s visit has been kept relatively low-key.
Data Compliance in China
According to Reuters, Tesla has been storing all the data collected by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai since 2021, as per Chinese regulations. The company has not transferred any of this data back to the United States.
Although Tesla rolled out the FSD software four years ago, it has yet to make it available in China. Customers in the country have been eagerly waiting for this advanced technology.
