Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Sunday for an unannounced visit, where he was expected to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person close to the file.

Chinese state media reported that he met with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be seen as a successful example of economic and trade cooperation between the United States and China.

“I am honored to meet Premier Li Qiang. We have known each other for many years, since the early days of Shanghai,” Musk wrote on the social network X, taking a photo with the Prime Minister.

In 2018, Tesla reached an agreement with Chinese authorities to build a factory in Shanghai, the first outside the United States.

The American electric vehicle maker launched FSD, the most autonomous version of its Autopilot software, four years ago, but has not yet made it available in China, the world's second-largest market, despite consumer demand.

This month, Musk said Tesla could make FSD available to customers in China "very soon" in response to X's request.

Stock analysts at Wedbush called the surprise visit “an important moment for Tesla.”

“While Tesla's long-term valuation story hinges on FSD and autonomy, the key missing piece in this puzzle is Tesla making FSD available in China, which is now upon us,” Wedbush said in an emailed company report.

Rival Chinese automakers such as Xpeng are seeking to gain an advantage over Tesla by introducing similar software.

Tesla has stored all data collected by its Chinese fleet in Shanghai since 2021, as required by Chinese regulators, and does not transfer it to the United States.

Musk hopes to get permission to transfer data collected in his country abroad to train algorithms for his self-driving technologies, the person said.

Musk's visit to China, first reported by Reuters, was not made public and the person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not say in its report on Musk's meeting with Li whether they discussed FSD or data.

Earlier in the day, a separate report on state radio said Li visited the Beijing Auto Show and commented on how China's intelligent new energy vehicle (NEV) sector had gained leading position in the market and that the country had to work hard to achieve it. maintain its advantages.

Musk also met with Ren Hongbin, a government official who heads the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, organizer of the auto show, state media reported.

“It’s great to see the progress of electric vehicles in China. In the future, all cars will be electric,” Musk said in a video posted to social media by a user associated with state media.

On Sunday evening, China's main automobile association released a list of 76 car models that it said had been tested and found to comply with China's data security requirements, including the Tesla Model Y and 3.

Musk's trip comes just over a week after he canceled a planned visit to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing Tesla's "very heavy commitments."

The company announced this month that it would lay off 10% of its global workforce as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles led by Chinese brands.

U.S. auto safety regulators said Friday they have launched an investigation into whether Tesla's recall of more than 2 million U.S. vehicles announced in December to install new Autopilot safety systems was adequate after a series of crashes .

Tesla has sold more than 1.7 million vehicles in China since entering the market a decade ago, and the Shanghai factory is the largest in the world.

BARRA VISITED THE GM
GM CEO Mary Barra attended the show in the world's largest auto market on Friday without notice, according to two people familiar with her schedule. GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Also Friday, Grace Tao, Tesla vice president of business China, posted a commentary on the social media platform of People's Daily, a state-run media outlet, saying that autonomous driving technology will be the new growth engine of electric vehicles. industry.

Tao said Tesla is leading the research and development of autonomous driving with its "end-to-end neural network" technology and data collected from car lion militias on the road.

Challenging traffic conditions in China, with more pedestrians and cyclists than many other markets, create more scenarios critical to faster learning of self-driving algorithms, industry experts say.

Musk said last week that Tesla would introduce new, less expensive models using its current electric vehicle platforms and production lines, and that it would also offer a new "robot taxi" with autonomous driving technology. On X this month, he announced that he would unveil robotaxis on August 8.

Tesla shares have lost nearly a third of their value since the start of the year amid growing concerns about the electric vehicle maker's growth trajectory. Last week, Tesla reported its first quarterly revenue decline since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic slowed production and deliveries.