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Tesla brings 'Full Self-Driving' to China after years of delays as local EV rivals race ahead

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Why This Matters

Tesla has finally launched its 'Full Self-Driving' capabilities in China after years of delays, marking a significant step in its global expansion and competitiveness against domestic EV rivals. This move underscores Tesla's efforts to navigate regulatory hurdles and strengthen its presence in the rapidly growing Chinese EV market. For consumers, it offers advanced autonomous driving features, potentially transforming the driving experience and setting new industry standards.

Key Takeaways

Consumers with the Tesla Model Y L electric vehicle in Tesla stores in Shanghai, China on October 19, 2025.

After years of delays, Tesla announced Thursday that its "Full Self-Driving" capabilities are now available for its electric vehicles sold in China, as China's domestic EV brands have long since rolled out proprietary self-driving technologies.

The announcement on X, which is also owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, listed China as one of 10 markets where the company's FSD (Supervised) system is now available. While short on details, the post marks the first time the automaker has confirmed the availability of the technology in China.

The announcement comes a week after Musk, together with a U.S. delegation of business executives, joined U.S. President Donald Trump for his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Before Thursday's announcement, the availability of its FSD technology in China was mired in ambiguity.

Unlike U.S. consumers, Tesla customers in China could only access the company's Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot systems — precursors to the FSD system — while only select users had access to limited versions as the automaker 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).

While Musk had touted plans for the company to bring the FSD system — which was first unveiled in the U.S. in 2020 — to China since 2024, these plans did not materialize as expected.

In July 2024, Musk said in a second-quarter earnings call that he expected regulatory approval from China's authorities before the end of that year. Musk's professed timeline was further delayed in September 2024, after he cited that the technology was still "pending regulatory approval."