Tesla’s Stock Surges After China’s Thumbs-Up For Driver-Assistance Technology

This share movement follows co-founder and CEO Elon Musk’s visit to China. The leading electric vehicle (EV) maker announced on Sunday, 28 April 2024 that it had met the country’s data security provisions and that the government had removed restrictions on its vehicles.

In its latest financial report, Tesla indicated an 8% year-over-year decline in EV deliveries. The firm’s stock has plunged by 40% since July 2023. Analysts attribute this downward trend to fiercer competition in the EV market, especially from the company’s Chinese rival, BYD.

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China’s green light for driver-assistance technology has many excited about the company’s full self-driving (FSD) software. Expectations are high even though Tesla EVs are not allowed on certain government sites because of security concerns. Likewise, the US investigated Chinese EVs and the risk of sensitive information being accessed.

Tesla’s FSD software is an improvement on its earlier Autopilot Driver Assistant. Although available in China for some time, certain operations, such as lane changing, were restricted. As yet, the company does not manufacture fully self-driving vehicles.

According to reports, Tesla also struck an agreement with Baidu, Inc. (9888.HK), the Chinese internet giant, to gain access to its mapping and navigation technology. This will enable Tesla to use the company’s mapping service license. However, these negotiations have not been confirmed.

The company currently has a market cap of more than $608bn.