(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Alimat Aliyeva
Elon Musk offered to test the self-driving (FSD) functions ofhis cars during his recent trip to China, Azernews reports, citing foreign media.
The CEO of the United States electric vehicle maker Tesla,proposed testing the full self-driving, or FSD, functions of itsvehicles in the Chinese market by deploying them as "taxis" duringhis recent visit to China, and sources indicated that the Chinesegovernment may have offered partial support for this plan,according to com.
In addition to seeking approval for its most advanced FSDsoftware rollout in China, Musk also suggested implementing thesefunctions in the country's taxi services, individuals close to thematter told China Daily.
Chinese officials told Musk that China "welcomes Tesla to dosome robotaxi tests in the country" and hopes it to "set a goodexample", the sources said, but authorities did not immediatelyapprove its widespread use of FSD functions.
Industry experts said that despite rising protectionism,including TikTok's ban in the United States, China has sent a clearsignal that it is further opening its doors to multinationalcompanies to test their advanced technologies in the country formutual gain.
Musk confirmed earlier this year that Tesla would unveil itsrobotaxi, a concept that has long been part of the company'sambitious plans, on Aug 8. China is Tesla's second-largest market,and trade news reports say the robotaxi could be a "life-savingstraw" for the US company to gain back market share from localcarmakers.
Before the full rollout of its FSD functions, Tesla still needsto get approval to collect and transfer data that Tesla's cars needto train its driver-assistance features. People familiar with thematter said that this issue wasn't discussed in detail duringMusk's visit to China.
On April 20, Chinese internet firm Baidu held a news conferenceannouncing collaborations with several companies, including Tesla,related to the launch of its advanced lane-level navigation.
Some media reports said that Tesla inked a deal with Baidu toclear another regulatory hurdle for its autonomous drivingservices. A source close to Baidu told China Daily that he didn'tsee "any new deal related to FSD functions" between the two.
The two companies initiated their partnership in 2020, withTesla already integrating Baidu's navigation map into its vehiclesin China.
The source said he believed that the latest cooperation onlymeans that the accuracy of Baidu's map provided to Tesla has beenimproved to some extent, and that it has no direct relations withits FSD function.
"Tesla doesn't rely on mapping to offer autonomous driving andhasn't got a license from Baidu to use its mapping license," hesaid.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, all intelligentdriving systems are required to obtain a qualification before theycan operate on public roads. Foreign companies need to partner withdomestic companies that have obtained the license.
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