Author: Zhao Yunfan Editor: Bao Fangming Source: 21st Century Business Herald Tesla’s FSD made significant progress in China. On February 24, news emerged about a major update to Tesla’s FSD in China. The next morning, Tesla officially confirmed the change. On February 25, Tesla announced it started rolling out the FSD feature to Chinese customers. The software version is 2024.45.32.12. After the upgrade, some Tesla owners will access city NOA. The system will recognize traffic lights, change lanes autonomously, and identify intersections.
Tesla will provide these features to customers who paid 64,000 RMB for the FSD function. Before this, Chinese owners who paid 64,000 RMB only received EAP features worth 32,000 RMB. They gained only the ability to recognize traffic lights, without the smart driving system that issues corresponding commands. Although Tesla aligned these features closely with North America’s FSD basic performance, it launched a “supervised” version. The driver still holds full responsibility for vehicle control. However, CEO Elon Musk hinted at a potential “unsupervised version” for China. On February 25, a reporter learned that this significant update, slightly less advanced than North America’s FSD, is officially named “FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving.” The FSD feature is now available in China, setting the stage for a peak showdown in smart driving among car manufacturers. Who will define the future of mobility? Currently, only a few Tesla owners in China have received the FSD update invitation. Many official test drive models have yet to receive the update. A brief review shows that signs of Tesla’s FSD entry into China appeared early. In April 2024, Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory announced that its models passed China’s automotive data security compliance review. This made Tesla the only fully foreign automaker to meet data compliance requirements. Previously, Tesla stored Chinese data in a localized computing center. Compared to tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Apple, Tesla showed its commitment early on. Since then, discussions about Tesla’s FSD entry into China have continued. In July 2024, Musk confirmed during an earnings call that markets like Europe and China could receive regulatory approval by the end of 2024. At that time, Musk did not shut down the conversation. He acknowledged that technology validation and approval could face uncontrollable delays. The rollout of FSD might be postponed. In September 2024, some Tesla owners in China noticed a “FSD button” on their car systems. The button was black and inactive. Industry insiders called this a deliberate “leak” of internal testing. This happened as Tesla announced plans to speed up its entry into China. In the same month, Tesla confirmed that FSD would launch in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, pending local regulatory approvals. In January this year, an overseas blogger shared a blurred video on social media. The video showed Tesla FSD undergoing road tests in China. This was likely part of the local validation process to meet compliance requirements. At this point, the public learned about Tesla’s plans for FSD’s entry into China. Currently, Tesla’s so-called “FSD smart driving assistance” in China still requires real-time supervision from drivers. In North America, FSD updates occur frequently. However, FSD customers in China experience lower update frequencies. They may continue using a “non-full version” of FSD for a long time. From “covert competition” to “overt rivalry,” Tesla’s gradual entry into China raises questions about timing. Last year, the fully self-developed Jiuyue faced a crisis. At the beginning of this year, the star self-driving company, Zongmu Technology, halted operations. The intelligent driving industry entered a period of intense consolidation. Meanwhile, after a successful listing on the U.S. stock market, WeRide’s stock price soared early this year. Amidst this contrast, new forces have engaged in a prolonged “covert competition.” On the automotive front, BYD announced “Tianshen Eye” earlier this year. It aimed to deploy intelligent driving systems across nearly all models under the banner of “adding intelligence without raising prices.” This marked the first shot in the “equality of intelligent driving.” Geely, a leading private car company, plans to launch an intelligent driving initiative soon. It aims to compete closely with BYD. Huawei’s automotive division focuses on high-end driving capabilities. It promotes its “L3 level” autonomous driving as a key selling point. Xiaopeng follows Huawei’s lead and announces its entry into the L3 field. Before FSD enters China, domestic car companies have rehearsed their strategies. They adopt proactive tactics. A source from the East China automotive supply chain states, “The timeline for FSD’s entry into China is clear. Major companies adjusted their strategies earlier this year to prepare for the market changes after FSD arrives.” Interestingly, BYD’s price-cut notice last year stirred significant reactions. It accurately predicted the early 2025 market conditions. Currently, the gap in autonomous driving experiences is not fully perceived. The voice of intelligent driving companies becomes a decisive market factor. In terms of technology, Tesla’s pure vision solution is widely regarded as leading. However, FSD’s buyout price of 64,000 yuan (8830$) will compete with high-end platforms like Huawei and NIO. Tesla’s chances of success remain uncertain. Most domestic car companies currently use L2 level autonomous driving solutions based on specific algorithms. Tesla’s FSD, on the other hand, employs an end-to-end large model approach to provide vehicle instructions. As AI technology evolves, FSD may display significantly different performance compared to traditional algorithms, says Zhang Xiang, director of the Vodafone Digital Automotive International Cooperation Research Center. Will you use Tesla’s “full self-driving” feature when it arrives? Share your thoughts in the comments! Edited by Li Yutong.