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Tesla Pauses Full Self-Driving Trial in China Pending Regulatory Approval

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Tesla announced on Monday that it would halt its limited-time free trial of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature in China, pending the completion of regulatory approval. The pause follows complaints regarding the trial, which was initially scheduled to run from March 17 to April 16.

Tesla’s customer support addressed the issue on the social media platform Weibo, where they stated that all parties involved are working to advance the relevant approval processes. They assured customers that the feature would be released once regulatory conditions are met and urged patience.

FSD is a suite of driving-assistance technologies powered by generative artificial intelligence, designed to handle complex traffic conditions. Tesla is targeting a full rollout of FSD later this year and is collaborating with Chinese tech giant Baidu to enhance the system’s performance.

While Tesla has successfully offered such trials in the U.S. without requiring up-to-date navigation maps—relying instead on local AI training from its 2 million EVs—the company faces challenges in China due to strict data laws that prevent the system from being trained using local data. Additionally, China’s industry ministry implemented new rules in February mandating that autonomous driving-related over-the-air software updates be approved by regulators before they can be deployed.

Baidu Denies Data Breach Amid Controversy Over Executive’s Daughter

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Baidu, one of China’s largest search and cloud service providers, has denied allegations of an internal data breach after the teenage daughter of a senior executive was accused of posting personal information online. The controversy erupted when social media users alleged that the daughter of Baidu vice president Xie Guangjun had leaked private details, including phone numbers, during an online dispute.

In response, Baidu stated that neither employees nor executives have access to user data and that the leaked information originated from illegally obtained databases hosted on foreign platforms. The company also announced that it had filed a police report to counter misinformation, including claims that Xie’s daughter had access to Baidu’s databases.

Xie, a member of Baidu’s cloud division, apologized for his daughter’s actions, asserting that she had acquired the data from overseas social media sites. His statement, reported by Chinese media, was shared on his personal WeChat account.

The incident comes as China tightens data security laws to curb the sale of private information, an issue exacerbated by illicit data brokers. The controversy has impacted Baidu’s stock performance, with shares dropping over 4% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday morning.

Tesla Collaborates with Baidu to Improve Assisted Driving in China

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Tesla is working with Baidu, a Chinese tech giant, to enhance the performance of its advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) in China, according to two sources familiar with the matter. This collaboration follows criticism from customers over a recent update to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Version 13 software, which failed to meet expectations.

Baidu has sent a team of engineers from its mapping division to Tesla’s Beijing office to improve the integration of Baidu’s navigation maps with Tesla’s FSD V13. The goal is to refine the system’s understanding of Chinese roads, including lane markings and traffic light signals, making it more accurate and up-to-date. The exact number of engineers or the financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

This partnership comes as Tesla faces challenges with data and regulatory restrictions imposed by both Beijing and Washington, hindering its ability to bring its full Autopilot and FSD systems to its second-largest market. Unlike in the U.S., where Tesla trains its AI with data from its own fleet, it cannot do so in China due to local data laws. This has led to increasing pressure from competitors like BYD and Xpeng, which offer similar technology without charging extra fees.

The updated software, released in February, aimed to add urban navigation features but faced backlash for not delivering the promised full FSD functionality in China. Tesla’s FSD V13 had not been sufficiently trained to navigate Chinese streets, causing drivers to encounter frequent traffic violations such as incorrect lane changes and running red lights.

The partnership with Baidu, a dominant map provider in China, aims to resolve these issues by improving the mapping capabilities and providing more accurate navigation data. Tesla has been relying on Baidu for mapping services since 2020.

This collaboration comes as Tesla’s market share in China declined for the first time last year, dropping from 11.7% to 10.4% in 2024, according to recent data. Meanwhile, local competitors have been pushing sales more aggressively. In the U.S. and Europe, Tesla has faced a slowdown in demand, putting further pressure on its performance in China.

Despite the regulatory challenges and competition, Tesla remains focused on rolling out full FSD technology in China this year. However, it remains unclear how soon the collaboration with Baidu will lead to a resolution of the system’s issues.