Tesla Secures Major Mapping License Agreement with Baidu for Autonomous Driving in China

In a significant move for the Chinese autonomous driving market, Baidu, the Chinese Internet search giant, has reached an agreement with Tesla to provide the car company with access to its mapping license. This agreement is a crucial step for Tesla’s implementation of autonomous driving in China and allows the company to utilize Baidu’s license for data collection on Chinese public roads and integrate its lane-level navigation system into Tesla vehicles.

Tesla has been working hard to overcome regulatory hurdles in the Chinese market, where obtaining permits is essential for introducing advanced driver assistance features. The agreement with Baidu removes a key obstacle and enables Tesla to deploy autonomous driving services based on navigation and lane-level mapping provided by one of about 20 qualified suppliers with the key module for self-driving functions in China.

The smart vehicle market in China is growing rapidly, and an industry association recently published a list of 76 connected car models that meet data security requirements in China. Tesla, along with other manufacturers like BYD, Li Auto, and NIO, is included on the list. To comply with Chinese regulations, Tesla has taken measures such as establishing a data center in Shanghai to process data from Chinese consumers according to local laws.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made a surprise visit to Beijing to discuss enabling autonomous driving mode in the company’s cars in China. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang praised Tesla’s development in China as an example of successful economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States. Musk highlighted the success of the Tesla factory in Shanghai, which produced over 710,000 vehicles in 2022. Musk expressed optimism about the future of electric vehicles, stating that all cars will be electric in the future.