Chinese officials appear to have given tentative support for authorizing Tesla’s self-driving cars following a visit by CEO Elon Musk, news outlets reported. Tesla’s share price spiked on Monday following multiple developments. On Sunday, Musk met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who called Tesla a “successful model” for U.S.-China collaboration.
As part of the deal, Tesla will gain access to Baidu’s mapping and navigation tech to power its driver assist feature it calls “Full-Self Driving,” Bloomberg and Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. Elon Musk’s quick visit to China paid immediate dividends, with Tesla Inc. receiving in-principle approval from government officials to deploy its driver-assistance system in the world’s biggest auto market.
The US carmaker was granted the approval under certain conditions, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because details of all the criteria aren’t clear. Tesla did manage to clear two of the most important hurdles: reaching a mapping and navigation deal with Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc., and meeting requirements for how it handles data-security and privacy issues.
Top Chinese officials gave Tesla tentative permission to launch the software following a meeting with Musk during his surprise trip to Beijing. Tesla will rely on Chinese tech giant Baidu’s mapping license for navigation on public roads, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.