TMTPost -- Tesla Inc. is working on paving the way for official rollout its Full Self-driving (FSD) advanced driver assistant in China, the second largest market of the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) titan.

Credit：Tesla

Tesla is preparing get FSD software registered with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which oversees information technology, mail, telecommunications and software industry, a Reuters report cited sources. A successful registration will lay the groundwork for Tesla’s internal FSD test, during which employees will drive on China’s public roads before a launch in the Chinese market in the coming months, the sources said.   

Besides the current one-time fee of RMB64,000 for vehicle owners’ access to FSD,  Tesla also considers a monthly subscription fee equivalent to about US$98.00 for the FSD software in China, according to the report.   

This is the latest sign of Tesla’s possible push for FSD launch in China, which would give a boost for the EV giant’s revenue and profits at a time when both are weighed by intense competition from BYD Co., Ltd. and other Chinese rivals.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s surprising visit in April has stirred speculation about looming FSD rollout in China. Musk was reported to meet officials in China about rollout of FSD system in China and permission to transfer data overseas, though the state-run media didn’t confirmed it yet.

In his in-person meeting with Musk on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang hailed Tesla's development in China as a successful example of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, and said that China's vast market will always be open to foreign-funded enterprises, which he called indispensible participants in and contributors to China's development. China will act on its words and intensify its efforts in expanding market access and enhancing services, among other areas, to offer a more favorable business environment and stronger support for foreign enterprises, the premier said.

Musk told Li that Tesla willing to deepen cooperation with China to achieve more win-win results, Xinhua reported. Musk pointed out that Gigafactory Shanghai boasts best performance among facilities of his company and praised  the "hardworking and intelligent Chinese team" at Shanghai factory.  Tesla will continue to work hard in China, develop together with the industry peers in areas such as artificial intelligence, EVs and energy storage, and accelerate deployment of clean energy and autonomous driving technologies, so as to turn its beautiful vision into reality, posted the U.S. EV maker on Chinese social media platform Weibo, attaching a screenshot of a CCTV report about Premier Li’s meet with Musk.

Following the meeting, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released a list showing that the first batch of 76 vehicle models from seven automakers including Tesla are compliant with all of four China’s data security requirements. The top Chinese auto industry body said it had conducted the relevant test since last November under Several Provisions on the Management of Automobile Data Security (Trial) 2021 (2021 Automobile Data Provisions). The list of 76 models includes all the 2023 versions of Model 3 and Model Y made in Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai. Tesla then said various local authorities in China have gradually removed restrictions on the movement and parking of intelligent connected connected vehicles made by the company and other automakers.  

Reuters’s sources then revealed Baidu, China's major Internet search company, reached an agreement with Tesla to grant the car company access to its mapping license for data collection on China's public roads. The deal was reported to clear a final regulatory hurdle for Tesla's driver assistance system. As part of the deal, Baidu would also provide its lane-level navigation system to Tesla, the sources said.

A Reuters report earlier May said Musk had discussed the possibility of Tesla licensing its FSD systems to Chinese EV makers during his travel. Musk proposed testing its FSD functions of its vehicles in the Chinese market by deployment of robotaxi, a new generation self-driving taxi services, during his visit to China, the state-backed newspaper China Daily reported. The newspaper cited sources that Beijing may offered partial support for the plan to test robotaxi. Chinese officials told Musk that China "welcomes Tesla to do some robotaxi tests in the country" and hopes it to "set a good example", but authorities didn't immediately approve its widespread use of FSD functions, according to the newspaper.