Tesla seeks robotaxi licence in China to test its self-driving software following Elon Musk visit to Beijing: report

Beijing will grant Tesla the licence to show its positive stance on economic ties with the US, China Daily reported
Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service and test the FSD system in Shanghai, Reuters said, citing people briefed on the matter

Electric & new energy vehicles

Daniel Renin Shanghai

Published: 8:00pm, 8 May 2024

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Tesla is likely to start testing its advanced driver assistance system in mainland China through a proposed “robotaxi” service, a result of CEO Elon Musk’s discussion with top Chinese policymakers last month, according to a report published by state-run China Daily.

Musk sought consent from Chinese officials to operate a robotaxi business in China, the outlet said, a move that would enable the US carmaker to test its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market. Beijing will grant Tesla the licence to show its positive stance on economic ties with the US, the newspaper added.

Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service and test the FSD system in Shanghai, Reuters said in a report, citing people briefed on the matter.

Robotaxis, or driverless taxis, are viewed as one of the major applications of autonomous cars in urban areas. In China, tech firms including Baidu’s Apollo, Pony.ai and WeRide have won approvals to test their autonomous driving technology in robotaxis in designated areas in cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan.

Tourists enjoy the night view of the Bund on May 10, 2023 in Shanghai. Photo: Getty Images

“Testing FSD on robotaxis means Tesla has not received the nod from Beijing to fully commercialise the autonomous driving technology,” said Gao Shen, an independent industry analyst based in Shanghai. “For Chinese fans of Tesla cars and technologies, robotaxis provide an opportunity to experience the FSD. It will be a good start.”

Musk landed in Beijing on April 28 before meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang to discuss Tesla’s operations on the mainland, fuelling speculation that the FSD software would get the green light to be widely used in China. Tesla charges US$8,000 for its FSD software in the US, or US$99 a month for a subscription.

Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice-president of external relations in China, wrote a commentary piece in the People’s Daily on April 26, saying autonomous driving is a key growth driver for China’s electric-vehicle sector. The technology will hatch new business models such as robotaxis, she added.

The key question is whether Tesla will be allowed to transfer data collected in China to the US to train algorithms for its autonomous driving technologies, analysts said. Without that, the value of basic FSD features currently installed in Tesla models operating in China is limited, they added.

China is now the second-largest market for Tesla, with 603,664 deliveries last year, trailing only the US market. The Texas-based manufacturer handed 654,888 units to American customers last year, a 25 per cent increase from a year earlier.

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Meanwhile, Tesla is sending Tom Zhu back to China amid slowing domestic sales, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people it did not identify.

Zhu, formerly Tesla’s head of China operations, led the establishment of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai in 2019 and was promoted to senior vice-president in April 2023 to oversee global production, sales and service from the company’s US headquarters.

Tesla’s Shanghai factory delivered 62,167 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to local and international customers in April, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association. That amounted to a 30 per cent drop from March, and an 18 per cent decline from a year earlier.

The factory delivered 283,043 vehicles in the first four months of this year, a 7.3 per cent drop from a year earlier.