Tesla still doesn't have full FSD approval in China, and it says it's pushing hard to get it. Asked on the company's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026 whether advanced driver assistance is now "table stakes" in China, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said Tesla is "working very diligently to try and get broader -- I mean, FSD approval in China," according to The Motley Fool's call transcript. "It is hard, but for certain cars, we have been able to have FSD operating," he said.

What Tesla said about China

  • Taneja said "the leapfrog which we have in terms of this technology isn't there with any of the other Chinese OEMs today."
  • He said Tesla is "actively working with the regulators in China" and pointed to the company's newly published Robotaxi safety report.
  • He gave no timeline for a broader approval. In China, Tesla's system is sold as a supervised, Level 2 driver-assistance feature, which chinaelektro.de notes has been called Tesla Assisted Driving since May 2026.

The sales backdrop

The question matters because Tesla's home-market sales in China keep sliding. By the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data compiled by EV (eletric-vehicles.com) and chinaelektro.de:

  • Q3 China domestic sales: 142,133, down 16.0% from 169,294 a year earlier. Chinaelektro.de says it is the sixth straight quarterly decline.
  • Q3 Shanghai exports: 132,978, a quarterly record and up 83.2% year over year.
  • Q3 Shanghai wholesale total: 275,111, also a record.
  • September domestic sales: 64,837, down 9.4% year over year but Tesla's best month in China this year.

Chinaelektro.de says Tesla has extended cash discounts in China through Oct. 31: 5,000 yuan off the Model 3 and 7,000 yuan off selected Model Y versions. For why Shanghai's export push could get pricier, see China's EV export tax rebate cut; for the full quarter, see our Q3 results story.

What it means for Tesla

Chinese rivals already sell city driver-assistance systems widely, so Tesla's case for premium FSD pricing there depends on getting broader approval. Until then, Shanghai is leaning on exports to Europe and Asia-Pacific to stay busy, while domestic sales keep falling.