Elon Musk’s recent visit to China involved meetings with high-profile officials and fueled reports of a potential partnership between Tesla and internet giant Baidu. It was speculated that this collaboration was aimed at facilitating the launch of Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China. Musk, accompanied by Tesla executives Tom Zhu and Grace Tao, quickly met with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Chairman Ron Hongbin upon his arrival in the country. This visit was acknowledged by Musk in a tweet where he expressed his gratitude to Premier Li Qiang, with whom he had maintained a longstanding relationship.
Subsequent reports indicated that Tesla China had indeed entered into a partnership with Baidu for the purpose of lane mapping and navigation data. This partnership allowed Tesla to utilize Baidu’s mapping license for data collection on China’s public roads. Additionally, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers confirmed that Tesla had fulfilled all data processing requirements in China. These developments suggested that Tesla was edging closer to introducing FSD to the Chinese automotive market.
The positive impact of these advancements was reflected in the market, as TSLA shares saw a significant increase, trading at $187.64 per share in Monday’s premarket, marking an 11.48% rise. With China being a highly competitive market for electric vehicles, the potential introduction of FSD could provide Tesla with a competitive advantage benefiting from its substantial fleet in the country that could provide a significant volume of training data for FSD and the company’s autonomous driving program.