People shop at a Tesla store in Shanghai, China, on February 17, 2024.
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Electric vehicle giant news Tesla’s Progress in rolling out advanced driver-assistance features in China is not as groundbreaking as investors think, a top technology investor says.
Mark Hawtin, investment director at GAM Investment Management, which focuses on investing in disruptive growth and technology stocks, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” program on Thursday that this expectation is misleading, especially because of Tesla’s fully autonomous driving service. It does not offer fully autonomous driving.
“We should say what they’re doing — this full self-driving capability that everyone is talking about,” Hawtin told CNBC. “What they can do in China is what they already do in the U.S. or the U.K., which is assisted driving features.”
Tesla shares surged on Monday, recording their best one-day gain since March 2021, after the company achieved a major milestone in the launch of FSD in China. Tesla said on Sunday that local authorities in China had lifted restrictions on its cars after passing the country’s data security requirements.
This has triggered expectations that Tesla FSD will soon be launched in China. Tesla shares have risen 6.7% over the past five trading days, driven largely by buzz surrounding its roadmap to bring FSD to China, coupled with CEO Elon Musk’s plans to bring FSD to China in early 2025 Started producing reviews of more affordable models.
But Hawtin said the company’s so-called fully self-driving service lacks the qualities to become a model for true self-driving technology.
“This is not autonomous driving yet,” he told CNBC. He believes that it will take 5 to 10 years to achieve a “truly autonomous” Tesla FSD version.
Huoting said Tesla’s reported deal with China’s Baidu is a bigger short-term win for Baidu than Tesla, adding that competition in China is fierce, with BYD, Huawei, Xpeng Motors, Li Auto and Companies such as Xiaomi offer technology that enables Level 2 autonomous driving.
Tesla reportedly struck a deal with Baidu that would allow Musk’s company to leverage Baidu’s mapping service license, a key requirement for providing FSD on public roads in China. According to Reuters.
Tesla had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC.
Full Self-Driving (FSD) is an upgraded version of Tesla’s Autopilot driving assistant. Tesla does not yet produce or sell a car capable of fully autonomous driving. It sells “Level 2” driver assistance systems, marketed under the FSD brand.
According to the SAE standards-setting organization, “Level 3” assisted driving, also known as “conditional automation,” requires systems that handle all aspects of driving, but a driver must still be present.
Tesla has been offering FSD technology in China for years, but its functionality has been limited to operations such as automatic lane changes.
GAM does not own Tesla stock, and Hawtin said he doesn’t personally own Tesla stock either.
—CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report
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