Tesla has reportedly secured support from the Chinese government to test its robotaxi concept with Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities in China.
According to sources cited by China Daily, Tesla CEO Elon Musk proposed the testing of Full Self-Driving functions within vehicles deployed in the Chinese market, with plans to operate them as taxis. Musk likened Tesla’s robotaxi service to a combination of Airbnb and Uber, with Tesla overseeing the fleet’s operation.
The Chinese officials allegedly welcomed Tesla’s proposal, indicating that the company was free to conduct robotaxi tests in China. This move is seen as part of China’s broader strategy to encourage global companies to test their technologies within the country for mutual benefit.
During Tesla’s Q1 2024 earnings call, Musk expressed confidence in the adaptability of Tesla’s FSD technology to different markets, stating, “So, think about the end-to-end neural net-based autonomy is that just like a human, it actually works pretty well without modification in almost any market.”
He further added, “We plan on — with the approval of the regulators, releasing it as a supervised autonomy system in any market that — where we can get regulatory approval for that, which we think includes China.”
