Tesla, a US-based electric vehicle and clean energy company, has met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang in Beijing to discuss the development of its business in China. The meeting was reported by Chinese state media as an example of successful American-Chinese economic and trade cooperation. During the meeting, Premier Li Qiang praised Tesla’s growth in China and expressed his optimism about the future of electric vehicles in the country.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, confirmed the meeting on social media platform X and expressed his honor to meet Premier Li Qiang. He also expressed his belief that all cars will eventually be electric, citing Tesla’s success in selling over 1.7 million cars in China since entering the market a decade ago. The company’s factory in Shanghai is currently the largest in the world.
In addition to discussing its business growth, Tesla also announced plans to release its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China soon. The company has yet to make FSD available to customers in its second-largest market despite launching it four years ago. However, Tesla has complied with Chinese regulations by storing all data collected by its Chinese team in Shanghai without transferring it to the US. The company is now seeking permission from Chinese authorities to transfer this data abroad for use in its autonomous driving technology algorithms.