Tesla Launches Full Self-Driving in China After Years of Delays

Tesla has made its Full Self-Driving capabilities available in China after years of regulatory delays. The company announced the development Thursday in an X post that listed China as one of 10 markets where the FSD (Supervised) system is now offered. The post marks the first time the automaker has confirmed availability of the technology in the country. Chinese EV rivals had already expanded proprietary self-driving technologies while Tesla waited.

Before the announcement, availability of FSD in China remained ambiguous. Unlike U.S. consumers, Tesla customers in China previously could only access Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot systems. Select users had access to limited versions of FSD as the company awaited regulatory approval.

According to the company's China website, intelligent assisted driving is available on its Model 3 sedan at a one-time fee of 64,000 Chinese yuan ($9,409). Musk had touted plans to bring the FSD system — first unveiled in the U.S. in 2020 — to China since 2024. Those plans did not materialize on the expected schedule.

In July 2024, Musk said in a second-quarter earnings call that he expected regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before the end of that year. The timeline faced further delay in September 2024 when Musk cited pending regulatory approval. As recently as April this year, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said in Tesla's first-quarter earnings call that the company was still awaiting approval.

The announcement arrives one week after Musk joined a U.S. delegation of business executives with President Donald Trump for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Speculation over approval had mounted in recent days after Bloomberg reported that Tesla launched a hiring effort for roles tied to autonomous driving technology, such as autopilot test engineers.

As Tesla awaited approval, Chinese rivals including Xiaomi and Xpeng expanded their own self-driving technologies. Chinese robotaxi firms such as Pony.ai and Baidu's Apollo Go forged ahead with autonomous-driving development. In April, Tesla China sold the fourth-highest number of electric vehicles in the country, behind BYD as well as automotive conglomerates Geely and Chery, according to monthly wholesale figures from the China Passenger Car Association.

A Tesla China representative declined to comment. China's embassy in Singapore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.