Tesla has reportedly started rolling out its Full Self-Driving (FSD) features in China, marking a significant milestone for the electric vehicle manufacturer in its largest car market. However, the Chinese version of FSD, dubbed "Urban Road Autopilot Assistance" (URAA), may not be as capable as its North American counterpart due to insufficient data training on Chinese roads and traffic rules.

According to Not a Tesla App, URAA guides vehicles on controlled-access highways and urban roads, assisting with entering and exiting highways, navigating intersections, and recognizing traffic lights. While it shares similarities with FSD, which is a semi-autonomous driver assist system that responds to traffic lights and stop signs, performs lane changes, and includes a self-parking feature, Reuters reports that the Chinese version will be "less capable" than the North American version.

The software update is being pushed out in batches, and only vehicles with "HW 4.0" hardware, including most Model Y and Model 3 vehicles built in China last year, will be eligible to receive it. The feature reportedly costs 64,000 yuan ($8,800 USD), but it's unclear how many customers will receive it immediately.

Elon Musk has long sought approval for FSD from Chinese regulators, even flying to Beijing last year to meet with government officials about deploying the semi-autonomous feature. However, the company faced obstacles, including a lack of usable training data, which Tesla engineers attempted to resolve by using videos of driving in China found on the internet. Reuters reports that Musk is considering building a local data center in China to process data.

The delayed rollout of FSD in China has hurt Tesla's ability to compete with Chinese EV makers, such as BYD, which recently rolled out its own advanced driver assist called God's Eye. China is a crucial market for Tesla, which reported its first year-over-year sales decline in 2024. Xiaomi's SU7, which sells for less than $30,000 and offers a smart city driving feature for free, has outsold the Model 3 on a monthly basis, according to Reuters.

Chinese law requires driver supervision for its Level 2 assist features, and Tesla's approach to autonomy has been criticized for lacking redundant sensors like lidar and falling short of capabilities of companies like Waymo. In its 2024 roadmap, Tesla said it would launch FSD in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, but the company has yet to receive regulatory approval in Europe for the driver assist feature.

The limited capabilities of URAA in China raise questions about the effectiveness of Tesla's FSD technology in different markets. As the company continues to push the boundaries of autonomous driving, it must address the challenges of adapting its technology to diverse regulatory environments and infrastructure.

Despite these limitations, Tesla's entry into the Chinese autonomous driving market marks a significant step forward for the company. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be crucial to monitor the development and deployment of FSD features in various regions, and their implications for the future of transportation.