Recently, according to a report from Caixin, a person close to the policy-making department of Shanghai stated that the Shanghai Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone has issued a road test license to Tesla, and FSD may be undergoing testing. Tesla China did not comment on this.
The news of Tesla FSD landing in China has always been highly anticipated. Last November, Tesla China's owner manual updated the functional introduction of FSD (Beta), which was seen by the outside world as a warm-up signal for FSD entering China. At that time, Tesla's official response was to "promote the implementation of FSD in the Chinese market.".
Subsequently, in early 2024, Tesla CEO Musk publicly stated on social media that Tesla would actively promote the implementation of FSD in China. At the end of April this year, Musk's visit to China further sparked speculation from the outside world. Meanwhile, Tesla has announced through data security testing that the domestically produced Model 3/Y meets automotive data security compliance requirements.
Zhu Xichan, a professor at the School of Automotive Engineering at Tongji University and director of the Institute of Automotive Safety Technology, believes that "Tesla FSD is ready to enter China after solving data security issues."
On June 3rd this year, Baidu Maps officially released a video of Tesla testing the V20 version, announcing that "Baidu Maps lane level navigation will soon be launched on Tesla.". In response to this, Yang Weibin, an expert in new energy vehicles and batteries, stated in an interview with reporters that if the two sides truly reach a cooperation, it will be a manifestation of Tesla FSD's implementation of collaborative solutions such as vehicle road cloud network.
A person in the intelligent driving industry told reporters, "According to Tesla's series of actions, usually first there is a road test, then employees and internal test users can use it, and then there is full push. (Tesla) FSD should not be far away.".
It is reported that currently, Tesla FSD has entered the V12.3 stage, and Tesla's intelligent driving software FSD V12 version is accelerating and landing in North America.
Recently, Lin Bin, co-founder and vice chairman of Xiaomi, posted two videos of experiencing Tesla FSD abroad on his personal Weibo account, accompanied by an article stating, "It took more than ten minutes before and after, and we walked a small 10 kilometers. Although there were not many vehicles, there was no need for high-precision maps or LiDAR, and it was entirely based on autonomous driving technology using purely visual models." He also said that it felt like Tesla FSD was more like a person driving.
Regarding Tesla FSD's entry into China, Yu Qian, co-founder and CEO of Qingzhou Zhihang, believes that this is a good thing, as it will elevate consumer awareness to a higher level and allow more consumers to see the benefits of intelligent driving.
"Tesla has conducted a large number of FSD tests in the United States, and from the feedback effect, it is close to the landing point." Ji Xuehong, director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center at Northern Polytechnical University, previously stated in an interview with reporters that bringing Tesla's FSD to China will accelerate the improvement of domestic autonomous driving technology.
According to incomplete statistics by reporters, more than 50 cities in China have introduced pilot demonstration policies for autonomous driving, such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hangzhou, and other places that have formulated regulations related to autonomous driving. In addition, there are also a large number of domestic car companies that are laying out intelligent driving, such as Huawei's intelligent driving ADS 3.0 solution, Xiaopeng XNGP, Ideal AD Max 3.0, and so on.
Faced with the competition in the second half of the automotive industry, Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, Chairman of Terminal BG, and Chairman of Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, once predicted: "If we cannot seize the opportunity of intelligent electric connected vehicles, no matter how powerful the company is, it may disappear in the future."
In Zhu Xichan's view, the revolution of intelligent driving in China has reached a breakthrough point, and Tesla FSD, as a "catfish", is needed to enter and promote the development of China's intelligent driving industry.
Zhang Xinghai, Chairman (Founder) of Celes Group, also stated that the introduction of Tesla FSD is not only a challenge to the existing landscape, but also a major opportunity for China's intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry, which will promote the transition of China's intelligent connected new energy vehicles from intelligent driving to autonomous driving. "The entry of Tesla FSD can promote the progress of China's new energy vehicles in learning, and we can achieve simultaneous progress," said Zhang Xinghai.