Tesla is facing a new regulatory hurdle in China after being forced to temporarily suspend its Full Self Driving (FSD) trials. This setback comes just days after the American automaker officially launched the supervised version of its autonomous driving system in the Chinese market. The pause follows new rules introduced by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at a time when local EV brands are quickly advancing their own self-driving technologies.
Driving Violations Raise Questions About System Readiness
Tesla introduced the FSD (Supervised) package with a one month free trial, aiming to encourage customers to subscribe via an over the air update. However, concerns quickly surfaced. A Chinese automotive blogger documented a nighttime drive in a Model Y during which the FSD system committed at least seven traffic violations. These included misinterpreting bike lanes as turn lanes and executing illegal lane changes across solid lines.
A separate test compared Tesla’s system with those of Li Auto and Aito. The results were telling: Tesla's FSD recorded 34 violations and required 24 driver interventions. In contrast, Li Auto’s L7 system registered 14 violations and 9 interventions, while the Aito M9 recorded 14 violations and 12 interventions, outperforming Tesla in overall stability and driver assistance accuracy.
Tighter Regulations Delay Tesla's Expansion Plans
Beyond on road performance, Tesla’s growth in China is now limited by stricter regulations. Under the updated rules, automakers must submit detailed technical data to authorities before deploying over the air software updates to customer owned vehicles. These requirements reflect China’s intent to tightly regulate the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle sector.
Grace Tao, vice president of Tesla China, stated on Weibo that the update will be rolled out to all users once the company fulfills all regulatory requirements. Tesla is not alone in this delay. Chinese EV maker Xpeng was also forced to postpone a scheduled update for its Mona M03 model due to the same policy changes.
As local brands gain momentum and customer expectations grow, Tesla must sharpen both its technology and compliance efforts. Successfully navigating China’s complex regulatory environment will be essential for the company to remain competitive in one of the world’s most advanced EV markets.
