Tesla's Move to Utilize Chinese Data for Global Autonomous Driving

TapTechNews May 17th, citing sources familiar with the matter as reported by Reuters today, it is said that as part of Elon Musk's strategic shift, Tesla is promoting the use of data from China to drive the development of its global autonomous driving system, and one of the measures may include processing data within China.

Two unnamed sources said that Tesla is planning to establish a data center in China to train the algorithms required for more fully autonomous self-driving vehicles. Previously, Tesla has been struggling to obtain approval from Chinese regulatory authorities to transfer the data generated by its electric vehicles in China to foreign countries for the 'Full Self-Driving' (FSD) system.

Establishing a data center for FSD development in China will require Tesla to reach a cooperation with Chinese partners. Sources familiar with the matter said that this also faces potential challenges in hardware supply.

It is not yet clear whether Tesla will carry out the work of data transfer and the construction of a local data center simultaneously, or if there is another backup plan. According to TapTechNews' previous report, some media have said that in addition to seeking approval to launch the most advanced FSD software in China, Elon Musk also proposed to test driverless taxis (robotaxi) in China during his visit to China at the beginning of this month.

However, the Chinese government has not fully approved the full implementation of its FSD in China. Senior government officials told Musk that China 'welcomes Tesla to conduct some driverless taxi tests in China' and hopes it 'ets a good example'.