Tesla shares surge on full self-driving expansion plans for Europe and China

Tesla shares rose by over 6% on Thursday after the carmaker said it hopes to launch its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature in China and Europe once regulators allow it. This comes a few weeks before Tesla is expected to launch its robotaxi called the 'Cybercab' that uses the FSD to help with acceleration, braking and steering on city roads and highways although under the supervision of a human.

Musk had suggested in July that the firm anticipates grabbing regulatory approval for FSD in both regions by the end of 2024. On Thursday, Musk also went further to state that the FSD beta could go live in right hand-drive regions towards the end of the first quarter next year or in early second quarter.

However, Wall street can still be considered conservative regarding self-driving technologies because the technology needs to adhere to regulatory requirements. Nonetheless, investors believe that new presidency in the United States might lead to the simplification of the procedures for obtaining licenses.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst, Susannah Streeter added her views towards the situation she said, the approval of this kind of business or company might not be much of a struggle in China. “It may be easier in China because Tesla has tied up with Baidu, the Chinese search engine to incorporate its navigational assistance,” said Streeter. While approval has seemed to be an arduous process in one region specifically Europe, it seems that the process is yet to get any better.

A month earlier, in June, Tesla with one of its gigafactories located in Shanghai, used ten cars with FSD technology. This has been done in preparation for expansion in China market where Tesla competition is from domestic car manufacturers.

In the progression of FSD technology from Tesla, the firm goes on encountering legal systems while at the same time marketing itself as providers of premier self-driving systems.