Tesla Rolls Out Smart Summon Feature in China Even as FSD Approval Remains Elusive

Tesla (NYSE: TSLA) has launched its “Actually Smart Summon” feature in China. The feature will be available in vehicles that have full self-driving (FSD) and enhanced autopilot features and will be rolled out through an over-the-air update.

The feature allows the car to move from the parking lot to the place where it is “summoned” and is part of Tesla’s autonomous driving initiatives.

Tesla is Yet to Receive Approval to Launch FSD in China

While the feature was available in Tesla cars in the US the company hadn’t rolled out the feature in China where it is currently not offering FSD even as it lets car buyers purchase the subscription. While Tesla expects regulatory approvals in China by the end of this year and expects to start offering FSD in the country from Q1 2025, it hasn’t been able to secure the approvals so far.

Notably, the name FSD is misleading as while the software is quite advanced, it is not L4 fully autonomous as the name might suggest. The nomenclature has been a point of contention with US regulators who accuse the company of deceptive marketing.

During last year’s Superbowl, Dawn Project released a 30-second commercial calling out Tesla for deceptive marketing.

FSD Has Been Accused of Deceptive Marketing

The video showed a Tesla Model 3 allegedly on FSD and proclaimed “Tesla Full Self-Driving will run down a child in a school crosswalk, swerve into oncoming traffic, hit a baby in a stroller, go straight past stopped school buses, ignore do not enter signs and even drive on the wrong side of the road.”

In August 2022, Ralph Nader also lashed out at Tesla FSD and said, its deployment “is one of the most dangerous and irresponsible actions by a car company in decades.”

“This nation should not allow this malfunctioning software which Tesla itself warns may do the “wrong thing at the worst time” on the same streets where children walk to school. Together we need to send an urgent message to the casualty-minded regulators that Americans must not be test dummies for a powerful, high-profile corporation and its celebrity CEO. No one is above the laws of manslaughter,” added Nader.

Separately, the NHTSA (National Highway Transport Safety Administration) is investigating several cases of crashes, including fatal ones, involving Tesla’s autonomous driving system.

Musk Is Among Trump’s Top Advisors

Meanwhile, many analysts expect easier self-driving regulations under a Trump presidency which would benefit Tesla. The billionaire was among the key backers of Trump who selected him along with Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Several analysts have raised Tesla’s target price since Trump’s election with Wedbush’s Dan Ives raising his to a Street-high of $400. “We believe the Trump White House win will be a game-changer for the autonomous and AI story for Tesla and Musk over the coming years,” said Ives in his report.

He added, “Now the next step in this broader Tesla strategic vision begins which is the autonomous and AI era as we believe Tesla remains the most undervalued AI play in the market today.”

Tesla FSD is Not Fully Autonomous

Notably, Musk believes that the bulk of Tesla’s valuation comes from the company’s autonomous driving business

For nearly a decade now, Musk has been promising full self-driving almost every year. Last year, he said that he would be “disappointed” if the company did not hit the milestone by the end of that year – which it eventually did not.

While Tesla has missed several self-imposed deadlines for full autonomy, Musk is quite vocal that it’s an aim that Tesla continues to strive for. “If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla’s going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company,” said the billionaire during the Q1 2024 earnings call earlier this year.

At the “We, Robot” event in October, Tesla unveiled its robotaxi or the Cybercab which is a low two-seater and has no steering wheels or pedals. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is optimistic that the company can sell Cybercab for less than $30,000 even as many analysts doubt that the company can make profits selling the car in that price range.

GM Exited Robotaxi Business

Meanwhile, while Musk is quite bullish on autonomous driving and robotaxis, not all share his optimism. For instance, BYD which is the largest seller of new energy vehicles globally previously said that fully autonomous cars won’t become a reality even as the Chinese auto giant has committed to invest $14 billion towards autonomous driving.

In 2022, Ford wrote off its $2.7 billion investment in autonomous driving startup Argo AI and pointed to the massive losses that the autonomous driving industry is posting without any clear revenue and profit roadmap.

Earlier this month, General Motors (NYSE: GM) also announced that it would exit the Cruise robotaxi business and would instead focus on autonomous driving for personal vehicles. GM’s robotaxi business was burning a lot of cash while the competition in the industry is set to intensify with Tesla launching its Cybercab.

In its release, GM said that it won’t fund the robotaxi business any further “given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market.”

Meanwhile, GM will continue to develop fully autonomous driving technology for personal cars. The decision to quit only robotaxi and not autonomous driving might sound a bit perplexing as autonomous driving software is at the core of robotaxis.

Tesla Also Cut FSD Price

Notably, while Tesla increased the price for FSD from $10,000 to $15,000 in the US in two tranches, the company eventually lowered it to $8,000 amid apparent weak demand at higher prices. Musk previously said that he expects FSD to cost as high as $100,000 which would mean that the software would be pricier than the car itself.

All said, Tesla stock has looked unstoppable since Trump’s election and rose 38% in November. It was TSLA’s best month in almost two years and helped it add over $300 billion to its market cap, the highest for any company in that month. Earlier this week, the stock hit its all-time high after failing to do so for over three years. While Tesla stock has rallied sharply over the last month, bulls expect its good run to continue in 2025 also even as many analysts are wary of its valuation.