Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a surprise visit to Beijing and is expected to have meetings with senior officials to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving software and the potential transfer of data overseas. 

According to reports from Chinese state media, Elon Musk had a meeting with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.

Elon Musk Visits China

During the meeting, Li expressed his view that Tesla's progress in China could be seen as a positive outcome of economic and trade collaboration between the United States and China, according to AP News.

Musk publicly announced his meeting with the premier on Sunday through a post on social media platform X. 

In 2018, Tesla struck a deal with Chinese authorities to establish a manufacturing facility in Shanghai, marking its first venture beyond the borders of the United States.

Despite customer demand, Tesla has not made its Full Self-Driving software available in China, its second-largest market. The company introduced this highly autonomous version of its Autopilot software four years ago, but Chinese customers are still waiting for its release.

In a recent statement, Musk hinted at the possibility of Tesla making FSD accessible to customers in China in the near future. This response came after a question was posed to him on the social media platform X.

Competitor Chinese automakers like Xpeng are striving to gain an edge over Tesla by introducing comparable software.

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Tesla's Self-Driving Car Technology

According to a source, Musk is seeking approval to transfer data collected within the country to train algorithms for its autonomous driving technologies.

Earlier today, a different report mentioned that Li had attended the Beijing auto show and discussed China's impressive position in the smart new energy vehicle (NEV) sector. He emphasized the importance of working diligently to maintain the country's advantages.

According to Reuters, Musk also had a meeting with Ren Hongbin, a government official in charge of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which is responsible for organizing the Beijing auto show, according to state media.

Musk's recent journey occurred shortly after canceling a scheduled trip to India, where he was supposed to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He cited "very heavy Tesla obligations" as the reason for the cancellation.

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