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Investing.com -- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is partnering with Chinese tech heavyweight Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) to bolster the performance of its advanced driving assistance (ADAS) system in China, according to Reuters, citing insiders. This move follows recent customer criticism over an update to the system.
In recent weeks, Baidu sent a group of engineers from its mapping team to Tesla’s Beijing office. Their task is to improve the integration of Baidu’s navigation map information, including lane marking and traffic light signals, with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Version 13 software. The sources didn’t disclose the number of engineers involved or the duration of their stay at Tesla. The goal of this collaboration is to enhance FSD V13’s understanding of Chinese roads through more precise and current mapping information.
The financial details of this cooperation remain undisclosed. This deeper engagement with Baidu unfolds as Tesla grapples with data and regulatory restrictions enforced by Beijing and Washington. These limitations have complicated Tesla’s efforts to introduce full Autopilot and FSD systems to its second-largest market.
Shares of Baidu in the U.S. rose approximately 2%, while Tesla’s stock, which had seen an approximately 12% gain over the past two sessions, dipped nearly 1% in premarket trading.
In the U.S., Tesla’s FSD system doesn’t require navigation maps to be accurate or current, as local training of the AI improves the technology’s driving performance. However, in China, Tesla has been unable to use data from its 2 million EVs to train the system due to the country’s data laws. This has put Tesla under increasing pressure from competitors like BYD (SZ:002594) and Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV), which offer less expensive vehicles and do not charge extra for similar software.
A deeper alliance with Tesla could also benefit Baidu, whose other initiatives, such as AI, are trailing competitors like DeepSeek and ByteDance.
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