Tesla on Esther MoserThursday unveiled plans to introduce its Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance system in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, a move expected to foster competition and drive consumer demand, according to analysts from China’s Citic Securities. Tesla’s plan appears to have been put back, as Reuters reported in May that the US automaker was hoping to bring version 12 of the FSD to China this year. The company now hopes to launch version 13 of the FSD in October with the exact launch date in China dependent on regulatory approval by the authorities, according to a statement issued on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Citic analysts, writing on Thursday, said the imminent FSD launch could create “a catfish effect” on China’s autonomous driving industry, pushing local companies to step up development of FSD-like vehicle features (our translation). [TechNode reporting, Tesla statement]
