Tesla clears full self driving hurdle in China, to partner with Baidu: Report

Tesla is set to clear a key hurdle to introduce its advanced assisted driving features in China by partnering with Baidu in mapping and navigation functions, Bloomberg reported quoting sources.

The US automaker will then be able to deploy its autonomous driving services on the basis of lane-level navigation and mapping provided by the Beijing-based internet company, the report added.

Business Today was unable to verify the development independently.

Baidu is one of about only 20 qualified suppliers with the key module for self-driving functions.

Musk wants to enable Full Self Driving (FSD) feature in China, which is available in other countries, and is the second-largest market for the electric carmaker. Elon Musk is visiting Beijing with an aim to discuss enabling autonomous driving mode on Tesla cars in China, BBC reported on April 28.

Other carmakers such as Xpeng have been attempting to compete with Tesla by rolling out similar self-driving functions in their cars.

Musk has described Chinese car manufacturers as "the most competitive car companies in the world".

Previously, Tesla took steps to reassure Chinese authorities about the rollout of FSD in the country, including establishing a data centre in Shanghai to process data about Chinese consumers in accordance with local laws.

Musk's trip to China comes days after the US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was investigating whether a recall successfully addressed safety concerns relating to Tesla's driver assistance system.

Tesla issued a voluntary recall late last year in response to the investigation, pushing out an over-the-air software update to add more warnings to Autopilot.

Musk has promised that Teslas will be able to act as autonomous "robotaxis" for years. In 2015, he said Teslas would achieve "full autonomy" by 2018. And in 2019, he said the company would have robotaxis operating by the following year.

This month, the Tesla chief executive said he would reveal the company's robotaxi in August.