On March 23, local social media reported that Tesla China decided to temporarily pause its Full Self-Driving (FSD) trial in China and the resumption time has not yet been determined. The reason for the suspension is unknown at this time.
FSD is an intelligent driving system launched by Tesla, which currently requires human driver supervision. Tesla China stated that FSD belongs to level 2 (L2) – partial driving automation, and expressed its Chinese name as intelligent assisted driving function. According to the standards of the Society of Automotive Engineers and China’s “Automotive Driving Automation Classification”, L2 does not meet the requirements of autonomous driving.
Earlier on March 17, Tesla China announced the launch of a one-month FSD limited-time experience event, which will last from March 17 to April 16. At that time, the official said that eligible vehicles would receive map and software updates, and issued a disclaimer that the human drivers are responsible for any traffic rule violations and accidents. Looking back, as early as September 5 last year, Tesla already announced on social media that it plans to launch FSD in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, but it still needs approval from regulators.
As for the suspension reasons, there are speculations that it may be related to the new regulations of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) based on clues from Xpeng’s official communication regarding the delay of the March OTA updates for its Mona M03. Xpeng stated that the delay is due to the Chinese MIIT’s new regulations on February 28, requiring that new key software changes must be announced in advance and that software filing can only be carried out after the announcement is issued.
Currently, intelligent driving is experiencing accelerated popularity and growth in China. Last month, BYD declared that “the era of universal intelligent driving is coming” with its “God’s Eye” system. Similarly, other players such as Huawei, Xpeng, and Li Auto have all set their annual goals towards level 3 (L3) – conditional driving automation.
Source: ITHome, Sina Finance
