Tesla (TSLA) shares surge over 11% amidst news of Musk’s China visit

Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw a lot of momentum on Monday’s pre-market amidst news surrounding CEO Elon Musk’s unannounced trip to Beijing, China. Musk met with a number of high-profile officials during his visit, and later reports suggested that Tesla had partnered with internet giant Baidu, possibly as a strategy to help pave the way for the launch of Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China. 

Musk’s unannounced China trip was quick, with the CEO, accompanied by Tesla executives Tom Zhu and Grace Tao, meeting China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Chairman Ron Hongbin just hours after he landed in the country. Later videos posted by Chinese media showed that Musk also met with Premier Li Qiang. 

Honored to meet with Premier Li Qiang.

We have known each other now for many years, since early Shanghai days. pic.twitter.com/JCnv6MbZ6W

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2024

Reports later emerged stating that Tesla China had entered into a partnership with Baidu for lane mapping and navigation data. With the partnership in place, Tesla China would be able to use the internet giant’s mapping license for data collection on China’s public roads, as noted in a Reuters report. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also noted that Tesla, along with other notable automakers like BYD, have cleared all data processing requirements in the country. 

These updates suggested that Tesla may be closing in on launching FSD to the Chinese automotive market. And so far, it appears that TSLA investors are appreciating the developments. As of writing, TSLA shares are trading +11.48% at $187.64 per share on Monday’s premarket. 

Tesla China has been quite silent about the matter, with the EV maker simply stating that “there is currently no timetable for FSD to enter China.” That being said, Musk’s visit, together with the Baidu deal and the announcement from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, seem to point to the idea that Tesla is about to launch its FSD system to the domestic Chinese market. 

China is home to the world’s largest and most competitive market for electric vehicles. Thus, systems like FSD could provide Tesla with an edge that few of its rivals could match. The size of Tesla’s fleet in China should also help provide the company with a substantial volume of training data for FSD and the company’s autonomous driving program. 

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