Tesla Finally Launches FSD in China
Its rivals have been selling self-driving cars there for years.
May 23, 2026 – 10:15 am
Image by: Evnerd
TL;DR
Tesla confirmed FSD availability in China after years of delays. Chinese rivals already hold Level 3 certifications and run robotaxis.
Tesla announced on Thursday that its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system is now available in China, listing the country among 10 markets where the technology can be accessed. The announcement on X was short on details and marks the first time Tesla has confirmed FSD availability in the world’s largest EV market. It comes a week after Elon Musk joined a US business delegation for President Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The timing raises questions the announcement does not answer. It is unclear whether mainstream Chinese consumers can already activate FSD or whether the post signals regulatory approval that has not yet been publicly confirmed. Tesla’s China website lists “intelligent assisted driving” for the Model 3 at a one-time fee of 64,000 yuan (approximately $9,400), with a Mandarin disclaimer noting that features would be updated “shortly.” China’s embassy did not respond to requests for comment on whether regulatory approval had been granted.
Despite its name, Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) still requires active driver supervision and is classified as a Level 2 system, meaning the driver must remain in control at all times. A fully autonomous, unsupervised version is being trialled only on a fleet of Tesla vehicles operating as part of the company’s robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The gap between the marketing name and the technology’s actual capability has been a persistent source of regulatory and consumer confusion.
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The Delay and Chinese Competitors
Musk first touted plans to bring FSD to China in 2024. In July of that year, he said he expected regulatory approval before the end of 2024. In September 2024, he cited “pending regulatory approval.” As recently as April 2026, Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja said in the Q1 earnings call that the company was still awaiting approval. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Tesla had launched a concerted hiring effort for autonomous driving roles in China, including autopilot test engineers, suggesting the regulatory path had finally cleared.
While Tesla waited, Chinese competitors moved. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued its first Level 3 autonomous driving certifications in December 2025, approving passenger cars from Changan Auto and BAIC Motor. Level 3 allows hands-off driving under defined conditions, a capability Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) does not offer. Xiaomi delivered more than 410,000 vehicles in 2025 with its own advanced driver-assistance systems. Xpeng has been selling vehicles with highway and urban autonomous navigation in China since 2023. Huawei’s ADS 3.0 system, licensed to multiple Chinese automakers, operates without high-definition maps in more than 400 cities.
Chinese robotaxi companies are even further ahead. Pony.ai and Baidu’s Apollo Go are operating commercial, fully driverless ride-hailing services in multiple Chinese cities.