Tesla recruiting local operations team to bring FSD to China, report says

Tesla is planning to form a local operations team of around 20 people in the early stages to bring FSD into the Chinese market, according to local media.

Tesla is recruiting a local operations team to bring the FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature to China, a new report said.

The US electric vehicle (EV) maker is planning to form a local operations team of around 20 people initially to bring FSD into the Chinese market, local media outlet 36kr said in a report today.

Tesla has already sent engineers from its headquarters to conduct training, the report said, citing a source familiar with the industry chain.

Meanwhile, Tesla is also trying to set up a data labeling team in China, with a size of hundreds of people, which is to prepare for training the algorithm of FSD, the report said.

What's more, Tesla has given a clear solution on the issue of vehicle data storage, the report said.

On August 14, Tesla said in a statement that it had set up a data center in China and that all data generated from vehicles sold in China would be stored within the country, the report noted.

Tesla needs to apply for a temporary license if it conducts FSD testing in Shanghai, and after two weeks of trial operation and approval by the local authorities, it can get a long-term testing qualification, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

And it will take at least three months to get this qualification, the people said.

On May 12, a Shanghai official said the city would further deepen its cooperation with Tesla and promote the electric vehicle maker's business, including self-driving and robotics, in Shanghai.

This sparked widespread discussion at the time and was seen as a signal of Shanghai's support for FSD to enter China.

All Tesla vehicles currently come with free Basic Autopilot (BAP) software. In addition, Tesla offers Enhanced Autopilot (EAP), FSD software as paid options.

EAP and FSD cost $6,000 and $15,000 in the US, and RMB 32,000 ($4,480) and RMB 64,000 in China, respectively.

On June 9, CITIC Securities analyst Lian Yixi's team said the trend of Tesla's FSD entering China has become clearer, which is expected to accelerate the intelligence of local electric vehicles.

However, this is still facing two major problems from becoming a reality -- data collection qualification and supercomputing centers, according to the team.

Analysts list 2 major issues Tesla must address before bringing FSD to China