Tesla had to roll back its ‘Full Self-Driving’ free trial in China after a policy change brought more scrutiny to software updates for advanced driver assist systems.
The automaker made the system available through a free trial this month to try to encourage people to buy the system through an over-the-air software update.
However, Tesla halted the program this week.
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Grace Tao, Tesla’s Vice-President in charge of the Chinese market, announced on Weibo:
“Dear car owners, the application of Tesla’s intelligent assisted driving function in China has received widespread attention. Thank you for your support and feedback.
According to the requirements of the latest ‘Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Access, Recall and Online Software Upgrade of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products’, the team is completing the approval of the 3.0 and 4.0 hardware corresponding to the intelligent assisted driving software.
All parties are actively promoting the relevant process, and once it is ready, it will be pushed to everyone as soon as possible.
We are looking forward to it, so please be patient and thank you again for your understanding and trust.”
She is referencing the newly introduced ‘Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Access, Recall and Online Software Upgrade of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products’, a new set of rules to more closely regulate software updates in connected vehicles, especially regarding advanced driver assist (ADAS) features, like Tesla’s FSD.
The new set of rules includes a requirement that automakers “submit detailed technical information” before deploying a software update to their fleet over the air.
Based on the Tesla executive’s comment, it sounds like Tesla is going through this requirement now.
The new rules also strengthen recalls related to software updates and ADAS features and require automakers to report crashes involving those features.
Grace Tao mentioned Tesla is working on both HW3 and HW4 approval. In China, Tesla had only launched the new ADAS features based on its Full Self-Driving package on HW4 vehicles, which are equipped with a more powerful computer and better camera.
In North America, Tesla FSD is also available on HW3 vehicles, albeit with different, less-performing software.
After a rocky rollout of its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system in China, Tesla is dropping “FSD” from the name of the system while it faces increased scrutiny from regulators.
Last month, Tesla started rolling out a limited version of its FSD system in China, finally allowing driver assist features to be used on urban roads in the country after a long wait.
Tesla is facing competition from Chinese domestic manufacturers. BYD recently pushed a software update giving smart driving features to all of its vehicles – for free. This is surely part of what pushed Tesla to roll out its FSD system in China in the first place.
But immediately after that rollout, Tesla drivers started racking up fines for violating the law. Many roads in China are watched by CCTV cameras, and fines are automatically handed out to drivers to break the law.
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It’s clear that the system still needs more knowledge about Chinese roads in general, because it kept mistaking bike lanes for right turn lanes, etc. One driver racked up 7 tickets within the span of a single drive after driving through bike lanes and crossing over solid lines. If a driver gets enough points on their license, they could even have their license suspended.
It looks like it’s now making some naming changes, too – and these changes are timed in a way that suggests they might have something to do with that new scrutiny for connected vehicles.
The change in names appeared on Tesla’s website in the last day or so. You can see it below, in both Chinese and translated to English:
Previously, the system was called “FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving” in Chinese. The new name drops “FSD” from the title, and simply calls it “Intelligent Assisted Driving.” It has also previously been called “Full Self-Driving Capability” in China.
Tesla has received plenty of criticism over the years for the name of its system, which, despite being called “Full Self-Driving,” does not actually allow cars to fully drive themselves. Tesla changed the name to “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” in the US last year, to show that a driver still needs to supervise the vehicle while the system is active.
Despite the name change, the system is still fetching the same price – 64,000 yuan, or about $8,800 USD. Each level of
Tesla also removed the world “autopilot” from the Chinese name for its lower version of driver assist software. This word is meant to evoke airplane systems which can do basic tasks but still require an attentive pilot to take over in case anything goes wrong, but has also been subject to criticism over the years because of the colloquial understanding that suggests drivers can stop paying attention while it’s turned on.
Tesla says that it still intends to offer its driver-assist system in China once it gets the necessary approvals. Perhaps today’s retreat in naming conventions is part of those requirements.
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The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 SEL is more expensive than the more basic SE, but it’s a better lease deal this month – here’s the lowdown.
The 2025 IONIQ 5 SE Standard Range is the cheapest lease deal right now because it can be leased for $199 per month over 24 months with $3,999 due at signing.
If you want to drive the 2025 IONIQ 5 SE Long Range, which adds an extra 73 miles of range and 57 horsepower, the monthly payment rises to $229 per month over 24 months, with $3,999 due at signing. As CarsDirect points out, that puts the effective monthly cost at $396, and that’s a fantastic deal relative to the SE Long Range’s price of $48,125.
But when we look at the SEL trim, things get interesting: You can upgrade to the $51,075 SEL model for just $10 more per month.
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Hyundai cut $40 off the lease price of the 2025 IONIQ 5 SEL in March, giving it a monthly price of $406. CarsDirect reports that Hyundai is able to offer this great deal on the SEL trim because of the comparably high residual value (65% vs. 63%) and $750 more in lease cash ($12,250 vs. $11,500) factored into the payment than the SE Long Range.
The SEL and SE Long Range have the same powertrain, but that extra $10 a month gets you projector headlights, roof rails, a hands-free power liftgate, a power passenger seat, heated rear seats, rear climate control vents, a heated steering wheel, and other goodies.
These 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 offers are advertised in Los Angeles and are valid through March 31.
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Tesla has been banned from upcoming federal EV rebate programs in Canada as the government freezes the suspicious $43 million in rebates that Tesla claimed days before the program was paused earlier this year.
The move was suspicious as it would have required Tesla to deliver over 8,000 vehicles at just 4 locations on a weekend, which is physically impossible.
It is believed that Tesla preemptively filed for thousands of rebates after being made aware of the pause to ensure it wouldn’t run out in an anticipated surge in demand due to the program’s pause.
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However, this tactic proved problematic. The government told other car dealers who actually delivered EVs before the end of the program that they couldn’t get the rebates, which were already applied to the customer purchases, as Tesla took most of the money for vehicles it likely didn’t deliver.
Today, Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s new transport minister, confirmed that the funds have been frozen until it can investigate precisely what happened with Tesla’s rebates.
Furthermore, Freeland confirmed that Tesla will be banned from future federal rebates for electric vehicles. In this case, it has more to do with the trade war launched by President Trump, whose biggest political donor is Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
She said (via the Toronto Star):
No payments will be made until we are confident that the claims are valid. I also directed my department to change the eligibility criteria for future iZEV programs to ensure that Tesla vehicles will not be eligible for incentives so long as the illegitimate and illegal U.S. tariffs are imposed against Canada.
The federal government is following the same strategy as some provinces. British Columbia has recently banned Tesla products from its EV charger rebate. Nova Scotia just announced that it has excluded Tesla from its $2,000 rebate at the purchase of a new EV.
Quebec just relaunched its own EV incentive program today. It will come into effect next week, and so far, Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles are still included in the list of eligible vehicles.
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