Tesla plans full self-driving launch in China, Europe in early 2025 By Investing.com

Investing.com — Tesla (NASDAQ: ) said it will launch so-called “fully autonomous” advanced driver assistance software in China and Europe next year, subject to regulatory approval.

In a social media post, Tesla AI, an affiliate of the electric carmaker, laid out a roadmap that included the potential launch of its fully autonomous driving — or FSD — technology in the two regions in the first quarter of 2025. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously said he expected the FSD to be unveiled in Europe, China and elsewhere by the end of this year.

FSD is currently available to customers in the US and Canada, although it has been subject to strict regulatory and legal scrutiny. In a note to clients on Wednesday, Piper Sandler analysts said it’s “worth monitoring” if there’s a “performance gap” between Tesla’s third-generation FSD system and the latest fourth-generation. But they said that if Tesla can “solve FSD,” they don’t think “investors will care.”

Tesla shares rose in premarket trading in the US on Thursday.

The launch of FSD is seen as particularly critical in China’s lucrative and highly competitive auto market, where Tesla is struggling to keep up with similar driver assistance systems developed by domestic rivals. China is the US company’s biggest foreign market, although it has been hit by weak economic activity and poor consumer sentiment in the country, as well as a protracted price war.

Earlier this week, Tesla said it sold 63,000 cars in China in August — its best month this year, but likely still short of the total of 64,694 sold in the same month in 2023. The yield was also , well below that of BYD ( SZ: ), the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, which posted a 35 percent increase in passenger car sales in China in August to a monthly record of 370,854.