Tesla Reportedly Says China FSD Work Continues After Website Omission Sparks Shutdown Claims — TSLA Stock Slips

• The clarification comes on the heels of rumors that the company has emptied its Shanghai data center. 
• The Shanghai data center facility exists so Tesla can legally keep Chinese driving data in China, instead of transferring it to the U.S. 
• CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the earnings call in April that the company is “hoping that we can get (broader) approval by Q3” for FSD in China. 

Tesla Inc’s (TSLA) China team on Wednesday reportedly denied online claims that it had emptied its Shanghai data center and withdrawn teams preparing the Full Self-Driving technology for the Chinese market.

TSLA stock traded 1% lower at the time of writing.

Tesla Rejects Shanghai Facility Shutdown Speculation

The team told Tencent Tech that the facility is running normally and that related hiring is accelerating, CNEVPost reported. The Shanghai data center facility exists so Tesla can legally keep Chinese driving data in China, instead of transferring it to the U.S. The company also reportedly told local media that it had alerted the police about the rumors.

The speculation spread on Tuesday after Tesla’s U.S. site listed 12 markets where FSD Supervised subscriptions are sold — including the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea and several European countries — but not China, the report noted. Tesla still lists China among markets where the software can be used.

CNEVPost noted that the subscription roster covers only places where paid access has launched, not every market where Tesla says the feature exists. Tesla has not opened FSD subscriptions in China or set a public date for a broad supervised rollout to local owners.

Tesla envisions FSD as a vehicle demand driver, not just an add-on, in markets where it is approved. FSD automates a lot of aspects of driving, though it does not enable fully autonomous driving as of date. 

FSD In China

In May, Tesla said on X that FSD Supervised was available in markets including China. However, this is a limited offering and not the full feature set, which is slated to arrive at a later date.

On the April 22 first-quarter update, Tesla said it “continue[d] to make progress on approval in China.” CFO Vaibhav Taneja also said on the earnings call that the company is “hoping that we can get approval by Q3.”

The July 22 second-quarter results showed FSD’s commercial weight elsewhere: about 1.48 million paid users globally.

How Did TSLA Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TSLA stock remained ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume was at ‘normal’ levels.

TSLA stock has fallen 23% year-to-date. 

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