Elon Musk, Tesla’s managing director, made a surprise visit to Beijing, China on Sunday to meet with Chinese authorities regarding the autopilot system for Tesla vehicles. Reuters reported on Musk’s visit and his discussions with officials in China.
China is Tesla’s second-largest market globally, but the autopilot system has not yet been implemented in the country despite customer demands. Musk’s visit also aimed to discuss the use of data collected in China to improve the algorithms for the autopilot system. Tesla has been gathering data from its vehicles in China since 2021, but has not received data from Chinese authorities.
Tesla has sold over 1.7 million cars in China in just over a decade, with the Shanghai factory being one of the company’s largest facilities. Musk had previously mentioned on X messaging service in April that the autopilot system could be introduced in China “possibly very soon.”
The safety of Tesla’s autopilot system has come under scrutiny recently, with a report from the US Federal Transportation Safety Agency highlighting significant safety flaws in the system. The report mentioned that the autopilot system has been involved in many preventable crashes.
As authorities rush to address critical flaws in Tesla’s autopilot system, Musk’s visit to Beijing underscores the importance of addressing safety concerns and implementing the system in China responsibly.