Tesla China shut down rumors about the company initiating a pilot run for Full Self-Driving in Shanghai.
China-based media outlet Caitlin received a response from Tesla China, stating that the FSD pilot test rumors were not true. The rumors started circulating in April after local news outlet Caixin reported that Tesla planned to test FSD in China.
Later, Shanghai official, Kele Chen, stated in May that the city sought to deepen its partnership with Tesla specifically regarding the company’s self-driving and robotics businesses. Chen was the deputy director of Shanghai’s intelligent manufacturing promotion division.
Chen’s mention of Tesla’s self-driving business led many to speculate that Shanghai would be open to testing Full Self-Driving capabilities. However, the Shanghai official did not mention Tesla FSD in his statement.
CITIC Securities analyst Yixi Lien stated in June that Tesla FSD’s rollout in China appeared to start taking form. The analyst added that Tesla FSD’s release in China is expected expedite the development of smart electric vehicles in the local market.
As of this writing, Tesla offers Basic Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving to drivers in the Chinese auto market. Basic Autopilot comes free with all Tesla China vehicles sold domestically. Based on Tesla China’s Model Y configurator, Enhanced Autopilot costs an additional RMB 32,000 ($4480). For China-based Tesla customers interested in FSD, it is an additional RMB 64,000 ($8969).
Tesla is steadily expanding its pool of FSD Beta testers in North America while continuously releasing updates to the autonomous driving software. Last month, a few Tesla vehicles in Europe and Australia reported receiving FSD Beta, marking the pool’s international expansion.
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