Details of what the two discussed have not been made public. However, footage released by Chinese state television shows the prime minister praising Tesla as a “successful example of U.S.-China economic and trade cooperation.”
Musk is reportedly seeking permission to move driving data collected by his company in China out of the country so that it can be processed in the United States, where Tesla maintains the most sensitive and cutting-edge self-driving technology. .
This would allow Tesla to better train its driverless car software's “Autopilot” and potentially allow a “fully self-driving” version to be used in China.
At this time, Chinese law prohibits the transfer of domestic data outside the country, and full self-driving Autopilot is not enabled in China.
Removing this barrier is seen as an important step for Tesla, given that China is the company's second-largest market and has already been overtaken by Chinese rivals that have rolled out their own competitive software. There is.
“If Musk can get permission from the Chinese government to move the data he collects in China overseas, that could change the game,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
“We also believe this visit is important for Tesla and Musk, further strengthening their EV footprint in the Chinese market at a pivotal time.”