Tesla (TSLA) rolls back ‘Full Self-Driving’ trial in China amid new approval rules
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.
Last month, Tesla launched a first version of its “Full Self-Driving” FSD package in China for owners with the latest “Hardware 4.0”, or “HW4”, vehicles.
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.
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.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently admitted that HW3 vehicles will not be able to achieve the promised unsupervised self-driving and will need to be retrofitted with more powerful computers.
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China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.
The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.
The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.
China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.
To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.
To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.
The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.
As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
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Tesla is starting to experience some consequences for misleading Full Self Driving customers – at least that’s the finding of one arbitration ruling that has Tesla refunding one customer $10,000 plus legal fees for failing to deliver on their promises. Find out more on today’s legally challenging episode of Quick Charge!
An arbitration “court” found that Tesla misled customers with its Full Self Driving product, and has now been forced to refund at least one person’s $10,000 payment (plus legal fees) for the not-quite autonomous driving software. France, too, is piling on claims of deceptive business practices – but there’s some good news for FSD fans! If you’re still willing to pay for it, Tesla will thrown in 0% financing on a brand new Cybertruck.
Check out the relevant links, below, to learn more.
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