Local Chinese authorities have lifted restrictions on Tesla cars after the company’s China-made vehicles met the country’s data security requirements. Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, where they discussed the breakthrough. Tesla cars were previously banned from some government-related properties due to concerns about data collection. Several other new energy vehicles from various automakers also passed China’s data security rules, including BYD, Lotus, Nezha, Li Auto, and Nio.
The data security requirements for “connected vehicles” were released in November and cover cars released in 2022 and 2023. Automakers voluntarily submit their vehicles for inspection to ensure compliance with the rules, which include anonymizing facial recognition data outside the vehicle, not collecting cockpit data by default, processing data inside the car, and notifying users of personal information processing. Tesla was among the first batch of automakers to meet these requirements, having localized data storage at its Shanghai data center and passing the ISO 27001 international standard for information security.
Elon Musk’s visit to China also sparked speculation that Tesla’s Full Self Driving software would soon be available in the country. However, some experts, like JL Warren Capital CEO Junheng Li, believe that the rollout of a “supervised” version of FSD in China is unlikely. Li pointed out challenges for Tesla to operate the software locally as a foreign entity in China and suggested that there are already high-quality local alternatives, such as Xpeng’s driver-assist software. Premier Li’s visit to Xpeng and other companies at the Beijing auto show highlighted the importance of innovation and demand driving production.
Tesla is not participating in this year’s auto show, as it has not done so since a protester stood on one of its cars during the 2021 show in Shanghai. The auto show alternates between Beijing and Shanghai on an annual basis, and it was not held in 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Biden administration had previously launched a probe into whether imported cars from China pose national security risks due to potential data collection concerns. The removal of restrictions on Tesla cars by local Chinese authorities signifies a positive development for the company in the Chinese market.
