Tesla’s FSD Launch Plans

Investing.com — Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares surged on Thursday after the company announced plans to launch its “full self-driving” (FSD) advanced driver assistance software in China and Europe next year, pending regulatory approval.

In a social media post, Tesla AI, an affiliate of the electric carmaker, laid out a release roadmap that includes the potential rollout of FSD technology in these regions by the first quarter of 2025. CEO Elon Musk had previously indicated that he expected FSD to be unveiled in various regions, including Europe and China, by the end of this year.

FSD is currently available to customers in the US and Canada, where it has faced heavy regulatory and legal scrutiny. Analysts at Piper Sandler noted on Wednesday the importance of monitoring a potential “performance gap” between the FSD system on Tesla’s 3rd-generation and more recent 4th-generation hardware. However, they believe that if Tesla can resolve FSD issues, investors may not be overly concerned.

The launch of FSD is particularly crucial in the competitive Chinese auto market, where Tesla is competing with domestic rivals developing similar driving assistance systems. China is Tesla’s largest foreign market, although the company has faced weak economic activity and declining consumer sentiment, alongside an ongoing price war.

Earlier this week, Tesla reported selling 63,000 cars in China in August, marking its best month this year but still below the 64,694 sold in August 2023. This figure was significantly lower than BYD (SZ:002594), which recorded a 35% increase in China passenger car sales in August, reaching a record monthly high of 370,854.

Tesla shares increased by more than 4% in recent Thursday trading.

(Scott Kanowsky contributed to this story)