Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Tesla said on Monday it is reworking its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China to comply with updated regulatory requirements, temporarily pausing a planned one-month trial that began on March 17.
The company is now adjusting its software to comply with China’s latest “Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Access, Recall, and Online Software Updates for Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products.”
In a statement posted on its mobile app, Tesla China said the team is working to complete the approval process for intelligent assisted driving software corresponding to both Hardware 3.0 (HW3) and Hardware 4.0 (HW4) vehicles. The inclusion of HW3-equipped models is a new detail, as earlier communications had focused only on HW4.
The company began internal testing of FSD Version 12.6 on HW3 vehicles with employees last week.
Over the weekend, Tesla also modified the way it refers to FSD in China. The label “FSD 智能辅助驾驶” (FSD intelligent assisted driving) was shortened to just “智能辅助驾驶” (intelligent assisted driving), removing explicit reference to FSD in the user interface.
“All parties are actively advancing the related procedures, and once preparations are complete, the updates will be pushed out to everyone as soon as possible,” the company said in the statement. “We sincerely thank you for your support and feedback.”
Tesla had announced the free trial of FSD in China last week, but access was paused shortly after, pending regulatory review. The company now says the one-month trial will be redistributed once the updated version of the software receives the necessary approvals.
Tesla Statement
“Dear Tesla owners, the application of Tesla’s intelligent assisted driving features in China has received widespread attention. We sincerely thank you for your support and feedback.
In accordance with the newly issued “Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Access, Recall, and Online Software Updates for Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products”, the team is currently completing the approval process for intelligent assisted driving software corresponding to Hardware Versions 3.0 and 4.0.
All parties are actively advancing the related procedures, and once preparations are complete, the updates will be pushed out to everyone as soon as possible.
We are also looking forward to it. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued trust.”
Tesla registered 15,300 vehicles in China in the week of March 11–17, the strongest weekly result so far this year. That included 9,500 Model Y and 5,800 Model 3 units, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
In the U.S., Tesla increased discounts on remaining inventory of legacy Model Y units over the weekend, offering up to $8,820 off including referral incentives, as part of its end-of-quarter sales efforts.
In February, Tesla sold 26,777 vehicles in China’s domestic market, down 11.2% year-on-year and 20.6% from January, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.