Elon Musk’s Surprise Visit to Beijing: Full Self-Driving and Data Transfer Talks for Tesla in China
Elon Musk made a surprise visit to Beijing on Sunday for talks with government officials about the introduction of self-driving software and permission to transfer data outside of China. Premier Li Qiang praised Tesla’s growth in China as an example of economic and trade cooperation between the US and China.
Tesla has been competing with local electric car manufacturers in China, but introducing Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology could be a game changer for the company. Although Tesla introduced its most advanced version of Autopilot four years ago, it has yet to bring it to China. However, Elon Musk recently hinted on social media that FSD may come to China “very soon.”
Transferring data from China is essential for training Tesla’s algorithms for self-driving. To comply with Chinese regulations, Tesla has kept data collected in China on servers in Beijing since 2021 and has not sent it to the US. Elon Musk’s visit to Beijing highlights Tesla’s ambitions to expand its presence in the Chinese market and further develop technology for autonomous driving.
