- The move could improve the performance of FSD in China as much as possible without transferring data outside of China, according to local media.
- Tesla China is currently conducting small-scale tests of the FSD among some employees in the R&D department.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) sent some engineers from its US headquarters to China in early February for local deployment of a mature version of FSD (Full Self-Driving) and optimization of its algorithms, local media outlet LatePost said in a report today, citing several people who have been in touch with the electric vehicle (EV) maker.
In theory, the move would maximize FSD's performance in China without transferring data outside the country, the report said.
Once the US engineer's work is complete, Tesla's team in China won't have to train the FSD from scratch, and they'll take over to complete the algorithmic optimization of the local road scenarios in China, according to the report.
The data used for algorithm training in that optimization came from Tesla's engineering vehicles that have been driven on specific roads in China since last year, according to LatePost.
Currently, the Chinese version of FSD is simpler than Tesla's US V13 version because it's not trained on massive amounts of Chinese road data, the report said.
Earlier today, Tesla began pushing out software update version 2024.45.32.12 to eligible vehicles in China, bringing high-level smart driving features similar to FSD (Full Self-Driving), though avoiding any mention of FSD.
The software update optimizes the existing NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) auto-assisted navigation driving feature, which will guide the vehicle off ramps and intersections based on the navigation route and recognize traffic signals at intersections to perform straight, left, right, and U-turn maneuvers, Tesla said in an update log.
When the navigation route is not set, the vehicle will choose the optimal road to drive on based on the actual road conditions, according to the changelog.
With the launch of the new version of the software, the description of FSD on Tesla China's website has changed from "Full Self-Driving" to "FSD intelligent assisted driving".
In China, all Tesla vehicles are equipped with the free Basic Autopilot (BAP) software.
Before FSD is actually available in China, Tesla allows owners to purchase the software for a one-time fee of RMB 64,000 ($8,810).
In addition to FSD, Tesla also offers Enhanced Autopilot (EAP) in China at half the price of FSD.
Last September, Tesla said it planned to launch FSD in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
Tesla China is currently conducting FSD testing among some of its employees, covering parts of the R&D department, according to the report in LatePost today.
If it goes well, Tesla China is next expected to expand testing among more employees in batches, according to the report.
After that, Tesla will need to submit vehicle OTA approvals to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and can push software upgrades to owners who have purchased FSD-enabled vehicles after approval, the report noted.
($1 = RMB 7.264)
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