Tesla Denies Scaling Back FSD in China, Refutes Data Center Closure Rumors

Tesla, the electric vehicle giant led by Elon Musk, has denied reports that it is scaling back its Full Self-Driving (FSD) work in the Chinese market.

No Reduction in FSD and Data Center Investment

According to a report from Chinese media outlet Tencent Tech on Wednesday, the EV maker clarified that the reports were "untrue" and stated it had not closed its data center in Shanghai. Tesla also said it is accelerating the hiring process for autonomous driving-related positions. The company added that it has reported these rumors to the police.

The rumors originated from online speculation after someone noticed that Tesla's website did not list China as a country where the FSD Supervised subscription service is offered, the report said. However, the company's North American website still lists China as a market where users can access FSD Supervised.

Tesla FSD in China

In May of this year, Tesla officially launched its FSD service in China, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump held bilateral trade negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with several prominent business leaders, including Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, accompanying the president on the visit.

Tesla's FSD service in China has faced ongoing ambiguity. Musk previously stated he expected Chinese regulators to approve FSD, but that claim was refuted by sources in Beijing. In China, Tesla offers its "Tesla Assisted Driving" service at a price of 64,000 yuan, approximately $9,500. On its Chinese website, Tesla states that the assisted driving feature will be "launched at a later date."

On the other hand, Chinese automakers such as NIO and tech giant Xiaomi have accelerated their own autonomous driving development, with Xiaomi recently unveiling its first self-developed autonomous driving chip.

Price movement: TSLA shares rose 0.58% to $347.58 in pre-market trading on Thursday.