Tesla to Collaborate with Baidu, Xpeng Chairman Says “Welcome” to Tesla’s FSD

Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, flew into Beijing on his private jet this past Sunday. The primary purpose of his visit, as per various reports, could be to engage in discussions with Chinese officials about the potential implementation of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China.

He Xiaopeng, Chairman of Chinese EV maker Xpeng, posted on social media on April 29th a warm welcome to Tesla’s FSD in China, stating, “I am particularly enthusiastic about Tesla FSD’s entry into China.” He went on to explain his vision, saying, “If the last decade was dominated by new energy, the upcoming one will be the era of smart cars. The rapid advancement of large-scale models in recent years has significantly accelerated the technology and user experience of high-level autonomous driving and driverless vehicles.”

He Xiaopeng also mentioned that the progress made in large-scale models could potentially fast-track the implementation of driverless vehicles by three years. He believes that full autonomous driving is one of the best commercial applications for these large-scale models.

He praised Tesla for its superior autonomous driving technology and brand reputation. He emphasized that the introduction of more high-quality products and technologies would enhance the overall market and customer experience, fostering positive market growth and acceleration.

Moreover, He Xiaopeng pointed out that China is currently pushing for openness and the development of new productive forces. In his view, whether it’s Tesla’s FSD, Xpeng‘s NGP, or any other competitor’s NOA, all represent the new productive forces and should be encouraged to flourish.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Tesla plans to overcome key barriers to introducing advanced assisted driving features in China by collaborating with Baidu on mapping and navigation functions. Tesla aims to utilize Baidu‘s lane-level high-precision navigation and map data to deploy its autonomous driving services. Notably, Baidu is one of the approximately 20 suppliers qualified to provide key components for autonomous driving functionality.

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