Tesla Launches Free Trial of Full Self-Driving Service in China

Tesla has launched a free trial of its assisted driving service — Full Self-Driving (FSD) — in China this month, amid a steep fall in sales in world’s biggest electric vehicle market.

The trial offer, which began on March 17, will run for a month, until April 16, the company said on its Chinese website.

The trial is available to Chinese users whose cars are equipped with compatible assisted-driving hardware and software, as well as the newest version of navigation maps, Tesla said in its statement to users.

Also on AF: Tesla Planning Cheaper, Smaller Model Y to Boost China Sales

FSD is a suite of driving-assistance technologies developed with generative artificial intelligence to cope with more complicated traffic conditions.

Tesla is aiming for a full rollout of FSD this year, and is working with Chinese tech giant Baidu to improve the performance of the system.

Tesla has offered such trials in the United States, where its FSD system does not require navigation maps to be accurate or up-to-date because local training of the AI helps the technology drive better.

But in China, Tesla has been unable to train the system with data from its 2 million EVs because of the country’s data laws.

The launch of the free trial comes at a time when Tesla’s sales have tanked worldwide, with potential buyers turning sour on the brand due to the controversial politics of its chief Elon Musk.

The market value of Tesla’s shares has also halved from a peak in December last year.

In China, which until recently was a bright spot for Tesla, the carmaker has seen fierce competition from carmakers like BYD which have strived to produce innovative, tech-laden EVs at a fraction of the price.

Sales of its China-made electric vehicles dropped 49% in February from a year earlier. The carmaker is now planning to make a cheaper and smaller version of its best-selling car, the Model Y, to defend its market share in the country.

Reuters, with additional editing and inputs from Vishakha Saxena

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Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is the Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has worked as a digital journalist since 2013, and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As a trader and investor, she is keenly interested in new economy, emerging markets and the intersections of finance and society. You can write to her at [email protected]