Musk expects Tesla FSD to gain approval in China next month

• Musk anticipates Tesla’s FSD will receive approval in China next month, echoing the timeline he mentioned last November.
• Starting February 14, the one-time payment buyout for FSD will be discontinued globally, transitioning entirely to a monthly subscription model.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk expects the company’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) driver assistance system to gain approval in China next month, echoing the projected timeline he referenced last November.

«We hope to get Supervised Full Self-Driving approval in Europe, hopefully next month, and then maybe a similar timing for ‌China,» Musk said during his first appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to a Reuters report on Friday.

At Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting last November, the CEO of the US electric vehicle (EV) maker mentioned that FSD had received partial approval in China and hoped for full approval around February or March in 2026.

On February 25, 2025, Tesla began rolling out its ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) feature in China similar to the US-version FSD, though the initial introduction avoided mentioning FSD. That was seen as the formal introduction of FSD to China.

The feature’s name was later changed from «Full Self-Driving Capability» to «FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving,» and then to «Intelligent Assisted Driving.»

For the past many years, Tesla has allowed Chinese customers to purchase the FSD software package for RMB 64,000 ($9,190). However, since FSD was effectively unavailable in China, even Tesla sales representatives did not recommend customers select this feature.

In contrast, most domestic automakers — including Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI, HKG: 2015), and BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY), provide their ADAS features free of charge to car owners.

Notably, Musk announced last week that starting February 14, Tesla will discontinue the one-time payment option for FSD globally, transitioning entirely to a monthly subscription model.

Tesla is experiencing a global sales slowdown, with 2025 deliveries totaling 1,636,129 units — an 8.56% year-on-year decline.

In China, Tesla delivered 625,698 vehicles in 2025, down 4.78% year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

Xpeng CEO gave Tesla’s FSD V14.2 high praise, saying it has reached a near-Level 4 of reassuring experience.

($1 = RMB 6.9734)