Tesla and Baidu will collaborate to introduce self-driving cars in China

According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, Tesla Inc. and Baidu have reached an agreement for the latter's mapping and navigation services to be used in China for the implementation of Tesla's cutting-edge fully autonomous capabilities.

According to the article, the largest electric car manufacturer in the world intends to use Baidu's lane-level mapping and navigation to roll out its FSD services, which CEO Elon Musk has hailed as a key area of concentration.

The news was released just a week after Baidu announced that Tesla cars will start using Baidu maps in the upcoming month. It also follows Musk's weekend visit to China.

By forming a partnership with Baidu, Tesla is able to get over a significant legislative barrier that prevented it from collecting data on China's public roads, possibly opening the door for the company to introduce its fully autonomous driving (FSD) technology there.

Musk previously hinted at a stronger push into FSD this year, given Tesla's struggles with sluggish demand and heightened rivalry for car sales.

According to Musk, the first robotaxi—a completely driverless car—from Tesla will be presented in August of this year.

The agreement with Tesla signifies increased software usage and data collecting for the internet behemoth Baidu. It already has agreements in place for EVs with Huawei and Xiaomi, and the two companies are allegedly working on an EV together.

(Sources: investing.com, bloomberg.com)