According to CCTV News, at the invitation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Tesla CEO Musk arrived in Beijing on the afternoon of April 28th. President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Ren Hongbin met with Musk to exchange ideas on topics such as future cooperation.
In an online video, Musk said, “I’m glad to see progress in electric vehicles in China, and in the future, all cars will be electric.”
When Musk arrived in Beijing, it was the Beijing Auto Show, but Tesla did not participate in this world’s largest auto show.
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Tesla did not respond to First Financial reporters regarding Musk’s specific itinerary for his visit to China. However, based on Musk’s previous statements on social media, it is expected that his visit will promote the implementation of fully automated driving (FSD) software in China, as well as issues such as cross-border transmission licenses for autonomous driving data.
Musk replied to netizens on social media platform X this month about when FSD will be launched in China, saying, “Tesla may soon provide FSD to Chinese users.”
However, in order for FSD to be implemented in China, the first step is to address the compliance issue of cross-border transmission of automotive data. As early as 2021, Tesla said that all data generated by Tesla’s vehicles sold in the Chinese Mainland market will be stored in China and will not be transferred overseas. Only in extremely rare cases where spare parts need to be ordered from overseas, individual data will be transferred after obtaining relevant approval.
At the time of Musk’s visit to China, Tesla’s global sales are experiencing a significant decline, and the company announced this month that it will lay off 10% of its workforce globally to cope with the decline in sales and the intensifying price war for electric vehicles led by Chinese brands. Tesla’s stock price has fallen by nearly one-third since the beginning of this year.
Tesla also faces a series of investigations into the safety of autonomous driving. The US automotive safety regulatory agency announced last Friday that it has begun an investigation into whether Tesla has taken sufficient safety measures after a series of car accidents. Last December, Tesla recalled over 2 million cars in the United States.
Last week, Musk announced at the financial report press conference that Tesla will use its existing electric vehicle platform and production line to launch new and cheaper models, and will provide a new type of “Robotaxi” that uses autonomous driving technology. He posted on X this month stating that Tesla’s Robotaxi will be launched on August 8th.