Tesla China announced last week that it would launch a testing phase for its Level 2 autonomous driving system (Full Self-Driving), which would take place over a month from March 17 to April 16.
At the time, Elon Musk’s brand informed that eligible vehicles would receive software and map updates, reminding that drivers would be responsible for any traffic rule violations or accidents.
However, the company has now revealed that the test has been suspended and that it will wait for approval of the Full Self-Driving system from Chinese authorities.
Tesla plans to fully implement FSD this year in China and is working with Chinese tech giant Baidu to improve the system’s performance. It is worth noting that Elon Musk’s brand’s autonomous driving system utilizes a set of driver assistance technologies developed with generative artificial intelligence to handle more complicated traffic conditions.
Chinese media speculate that the suspension may be related to new regulations from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT).
The theory gained traction after Xpeng announced the postponement of OTA updates for March for its Mona M03 model, citing the new MIIT regulations that require prior announcement of significant software changes and filing of the same only after the issuance of the announcement.
Currently, autonomous driving systems are experiencing significant growth in China, the largest automotive market in the world, and brands such as BYD, Huawei, Xpeng, and Li Auto are working to launch Level 3 autonomous driving models by the end of the year.
