Tesla punished by its Chinese ally?

Tesla recently showcased its autonomous Robotaxi with great fanfare, but will it ever be allowed on the road?

Tesla’s fully autonomous driving system, FSD, which enables vehicles to operate without human intervention, is facing a new denial of approval in China. This is awkward as Tesla continues to boast that the FSD will be introduced in China by the first quarter of 2025. According to the authoritative media outlet China Daily, the deployment may not happen as quickly as the manufacturer initially anticipated. Elon Musk, however, assured that Tesla had obtained all regulatory approvals to introduce its autonomous system in China and that its arrival in Europe was confirmed by the end of 2025.

So why such a setback? It could be that Tesla has not fully complied with the rules of the game, and in China more than anywhere else, this is unacceptable. One of the main obstacles to the deployment of FSD in China concerns the collection and management of geographic data. Under Chinese law, foreign companies are required to work with licensed local entities for the collection, storage, transmission, and processing of geospatial data. And without maps and location data, how can you explain to a car what it needs to do? Tesla had thus committed to partnering with certified local companies to handle the mapping work.

However, according to China Daily, the Chinese Ministry of State Security revealed that a foreign company had engaged in illegal mapping activities in China under the guise of research on intelligent driving. The ministry did not specify which company was involved in the incident, but with Tesla being the only one working on this issue… It would not be surprising if this is just a minor correction, or even a little investment blackmail, but Tesla can no longer afford to waste more time.

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