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Tesla FSD improvements in China continues with Baidu’s help

Tesla is working with Baidu to improve FSD in China, as strict data laws prevent Tesla from training its AI locally.

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Credit: Tesla China/Weibo

Baidu is helping Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) improve in China.

Engineers from Baidu, a leading AI company in China, are helping Tesla with its FSD Version 13 software.

According to Reuters’ sources, Baidu recently dispatched engineers from its mapping team to Tesla’s Beijing office. The engineers are working on integrating Baidu’s navigation map information with Tesla’s FSD V13 software.

Tesla’s way of improving FSD V13 in China differs from the methods used in the United States. In the U.S., Tesla trains FSD to improve navigation techniques and learn about roads. In contrast, Tesla cannot train FSD in China due to the country’s data laws.

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“Then China, which is a gigantic market, we do have some challenges because they currently don’t allow us to transfer training videos outside of China. And then the US government won’t let us do training in China. So, we’re in a bit of a there. It’s like a quandary,” noted Elon Musk during the last earnings call.

“So, we were solving then is by literally looking at videos of streets in China that are available on the Internet to understand and then feeding that into our training so that publicly available video of street signs and traffic rules in China can be used for training and then also putting it in a very accurate simulator. And so, it will train using SIM for bus lanes in China,” he added.

Tesla has rolled out FSD (Supervised) in Mexico and started the process to release it in parts of Europe. Despite a few regulatory issues, Musk is optimistic that FSD (Unsupervised) will be available in more countries this year.

“But I think we’ll have unsupervised FSD in almost every market this year, limited simply by regulatory issues, not technical capability. And then unsupervised FSD in the U.S. this year, in many cities but nationwide next year. And hopefully, we have unsupervised FSD in most countries by the end of next year,” he noted during the Q4 and Full Year 2024 earnings call.

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Elon Musk

Tesla Model Y L might not come to the U.S., and it’s a missed opportunity

The Model Y L has a variety of big changes that would be advantageous for the U.S. market, including a longer wheelbase, more comfortable seats, a third row that appears to be more spacious than Tesla’s six-seat Model Y that it previously offered, B-Pillar vents for rear passengers, and more.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla’s new Model Y L might not come to the U.S., CEO Elon Musk said this morning.

It’s a missed opportunity, and I’m not the only one who feels this way.

In the past, I have personally written a handful of articles about what Tesla owners have been wanting in the United States: a full-sized SUV, or at least a vehicle that is larger than the Model Y but less of a crossover than the Model X.

Tesla is missing one type of vehicle in its lineup and fans want it fast

The only thing that Tesla has announced that even slightly matches this sort of idea is the Robovan, which is, optimistically, several years off because it lacks a steering wheel and pedals and will require Full Self-Driving to be fully autonomous.

Even if Tesla launches FSD next year, it will take a year or two to figure out manufacturing, go through regulatory hurdles with the EPA, and eventually enter mass production for customers.

The Model Y L has a variety of big changes that would be advantageous for the U.S. market, including a longer wheelbase, more comfortable seats, a third row that appears to be more spacious than Tesla’s six-seat Model Y that it previously offered, B-Pillar vents for rear passengers, and more.

However, Musk said it won’t come to the U.S. until next year, and that it “might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America.”

To be blunt, I’m not sure if I truly believe that Musk thinks the Model Y L won’t come to the U.S. Some believe he said this to not Osborne Effect Model Y sales here, which seems more likely than anything.

Tesla Model Y L gets disappointingly far production date in the United States

People have been buying the Model Y for two years more than any other car in the world. To act as if many families would not appreciate the extra space seems very strange; a big complaint with the Model Y is that it simply does not fit larger families.

If you have four kids, you’re forced into the Model X, which might be too expensive for some families, as it starts at $79,990.

While Tesla’s focus is undoubtedly on autonomy, it is important to remember that some people still really enjoy the act of driving their cars. Tesla has worked very hard to create a fun and sporty driving experience, especially in the new Model Y. Many consumers, including myself, like to take advantage of that.

Autonomy might eventually take over human driving completely, but in the near term, it does not seem as if that is the case. Even if someone were interested in never driving again, this longer and more spacious Model Y L would be an ideal option for American families that need the room for at least six passengers.

Quite a few big names in the Tesla community share this sentiment:

More than likely, Musk does not want to announce a more attractive option than the current Model Y, as many consumers would likely wait a year or two for the L in an effort to have more space.

In all honesty, I see the Model Y L coming to the United States, as it truly fits the bill as an ideal car for the modern American family.

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Elon Musk

Tesla’s Elon Musk shares optimistic teaser about FSD V14: “Feels sentient”

FSD V14 is arguably the second biggest update to Tesla AI/Autopilot after the release of V12, Musk wrote.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has provided a rather exciting teaser about the capabilities of Full Self-Driving’s (FSD) upcoming V14 update. 

As per Musk, V14 is arguably the second biggest update to Tesla AI/Autopilot after the release of V12, which started its initial rollout to Tesla employees way back November 2023.

Tesla FSD V14

Elon Musk has been teasing the capabilities of FSD V14 in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the CEO shared that FSD V14 will feature a 10X higher parameter count, and it will also nag drivers significantly less than the system’s current iteration. While FSD V14 is not Unsupervised FSD, which is being used in the Austin Robotaxi pilot, it is expected to be a significant improvement nonetheless.

“The FSD release in about 6 weeks will be a dramatic gain with a 10X higher parameter count and many other improvements. It’s going through training & testing now. Once we confirm real-world safety of FSD 14, which we think will be amazing, the car will nag you much less,” Musk wrote in his post.

“Feels sentient”

Musk recently shared some more details about FSD V14 on X. In response to a video of a William Blair analyst who mentioned that Tesla’s Robotaxi service felt a lot more like a person was driving it compared to Waymo’s robotic maneuvers, Musk noted that “Version 14 of Tesla self-driving fells sentient.”

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Musk also clarified that the system that the William Blair analyst experienced was Version 13, so the system’s performance will definitely get even better. “He was just on version 13. Version 14 is the second biggest update to Tesla AI/Autopilot ever after V12. It feels alive,” Musk wrote in his post.

Musk’s comments bode well for the rollout of FSD V14. So far, FSD has reached a point where drivers and passengers have commented that the system already operates a vehicle in a very cautious and humanlike manner. Having a system that feels “sentient,” as the CEO noted, would most definitely be game-changing.

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Tesla Model Y L attracts crowds across China stores

The Tesla Model Y L is shaping up to be a big hit in China.

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Credit: @thaichiminh1907/X

Tesla has officially rolled out the Model Y L, a six-seat variant of its best-selling SUV, across all showrooms in China, and it is getting a lot of attention from potential buyers.

Images and videos from Tesla stores in China show crowds of people checking out the recently released extended wheelbase all-electric crossover.

Model Y L details

The vehicle, which carries a starting price of RMB 339,000 ($47,180), went live in Tesla China’s configurator this week. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in September, and early media reviews have already been released following the lifting of an embargo.

Unlike a full model refresh, the Model Y L is positioned as a new variant within the existing Model Y lineup. It joins the five-seat rear-wheel drive (RWD) and long-range all-wheel drive (AWD) Model Y variants currently available in China.

The six-seat Model Y L features dual-motor all-wheel drive, a 0–100 km/h time of 4.5 seconds, and an 82.0-kWh battery pack from LG Energy Solution. Its CLTC-rated range reaches 751 km, the highest among Tesla’s Model Y trims.

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So far, the reception to the Model Y L appears to be very warm, with photos and videos of stores in locations such as Shanghai and Shenyang showing numerous people checking out the recently released vehicle. Reports from industry watchers in China also suggest that Tesla received about 35,000 orders for the Model Y L on its first day of release.

Market backdrop

The timing of the Model Y L’s release comes as Tesla faces headwinds in China’s competitive SUV segment. Between January and July, Model Y retail sales in the country reached 202,257 units, a 17.15 percent decline compared to the same period last year, according to data cited by CNEVPost. It should be noted, however, that a good portion of this decline was due to the retooling of Tesla’s factories to make way for the new Model Y.

Despite the slowdown, the Model Y remains one of Tesla’s strongest performers globally. By introducing a higher-range, six-seat option, Tesla appears to be positioning the Model Y L as a way to boost demand and appeal to new buyers in a market that was previously only accessible to the much more expensive Model X.

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