Tesla seems to be making some steady progress towards the release of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in China. This was hinted at in recent observations from Tesla watchers in the country, which indicate that some China-based Tesla vehicles have been updated with a button to enable FSD (Supervised).
Images of the FSD (Supervised) button—which remains disabled for now—were shared by industry watchers on social media this weekend. As per the images that have been shared so far, China’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) button is located in the same menu as Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer (Beta), similar to vehicles in North America.
Interestingly enough, the screenshots from the Tesla community in China indicate that FSD (Supervised) would require updated navigation maps to be enabled. The message also indicated that the updated navigation maps would require a Wi-Fi connection to be downloaded.
Yeah, #Tesla's FSD should be here soon in China
— 大趙 (@zhongwen2005) September 15, 2024
(FSD driver supervision version) pic.twitter.com/wzhW7OmG7s
The sighting of the FSD (Supervised) button in China-based Teslas has been received with much optimism by members of the electric vehicle community. China, after all, is a market that is eagerly awaiting the release of Tesla’s advanced driver-assist system. Even Tesla’s rivals such as Xpeng have noted that they are looking forward to FSD’s release in the country.
Another picture from Tesla China.
— Luis Zhu (@LuisZhu) September 15, 2024
The highlighted in blue says: Full Self Driving (Supervised) needs to use the updated version of the navigation map. Connect Wi-Fi to download. pic.twitter.com/ieytR3rwcM
Reports from China in previous months have suggested that Tesla is hard at work preparing for the launch of FSD in the country. During Elon Musk’s surprise visit to China in late April, authorities announced that Tesla, as well as other automakers like BYD, have met all data-processing requirements in China. Tesla also secured a deal with Baidu for navigation and mapping data.
The significance of no nag, a version of FSD that rarely requires intervention, actually smart summon, and expansion into europe and china is that Tesla is beginning to monetize FSD in a more material way
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) September 15, 2024
Investors are so distracted by the question of “wen robotaxi?” that… pic.twitter.com/9rLhy3j7jO
By June, local reports stated that Shanghai’s Nanhui New Town was facilitating 10 Tesla vehicles that would be carrying out an FSD pilot program. Elon Musk also noted during Tesla’s Q2 2024 earnings call that he is expecting FSD to be approved in China by the end of the year.
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