TESLA has started rolling out a software update for customers in China that enables driver-assistance capabilities similar to those marketed as Full Self-Driving (FSD) in the US.
The update, which the carmaker is pushing to vehicles in batches, allows Tesla owners to use driver-assist features on city streets, according to a notification from the company on Tuesday (Feb 25). Tesla said the system can guide vehicles to exit ramps and intersections, and can recognise traffic signals, make turns and handle changing lanes and speeds.
The update will initially be available in cars with HW 4.0 – the latest generation of driving hardware that Tesla has used in locally built Model Ys and Model 3s since last year, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. The carmaker said it will gradually expand the driver-assistance feature to more vehicles.
The capabilities are enabled for customers who’ve paid 64,000 yuan (S$11,805) for what Tesla typically calls FSD, though the carmaker steered clear of using the term in its publicity of the software update in China. While the company markets its features as self-driving, they require constant human supervision and frequent interventions.
Chief executive officer Elon Musk has for years been seeking regulatory approval for FSD to be allowed to operate on Chinese roads and had sought to launch the system in China this year.
Tesla said that a camera above the rear-view mirror can determine if the driver is paying attention, and the driver will be reminded to watch the road even when the intelligent driver assistance system is engaged. Video is processed within the vehicle and can’t be accessed by Tesla, it said.
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Musk travelled to Beijing in April of last year to meet with officials including Premier Li Qiang about deploying FSD in China. The company reached a mapping and navigation deal with Chinese tech company Baidu and cleared requirements for how it handles data-security and privacy issues.
Still, Musk said during Tesla’s quarterly earnings call last month that the carmaker was facing challenges with FSD in China, citing limits that both Beijing and Washington had placed on how the company trains its system to handle local roads. The CEO said engineers were resolving the issues by looking at videos of streets in China that are available on the Internet and using that footage for training.
Driver-assistance technology is becoming increasingly common in China, with EV leader BYD recently having announced a system it’s marketing as God’s Eye. The manufacturer is offering different tiers of capability and hardware as standard features on cars starting at just 69,800 yuan.
Tesla does not disclose how many of its customers have paid for FSD. Take-up has been limited in China as the company has awaited regulatory approval to deploy features. BLOOMBERG
