Investing.com – Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) has entered into an agreement with Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:) to bring its advanced full self-driving capabilities to China using the internet giant’s mapping and navigation capabilities, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
The world’s largest electric vehicle maker plans to introduce its FSD services, which CEO Elon Musk has described as a core business, using lane-level navigation and mapping provided by Baidu, the report said.
The report comes just a week after Baidu said Tesla cars would integrate Baidu Maps next month. This also comes after Musk visited China over the weekend.
The partnership with Baidu allows Tesla to remove a major regulatory hurdle in gaining access to data collection on China’s public roads, now allowing the company to potentially offer its full self-driving (FSD) technology in the country.
Musk recently noted that Tesla will struggle with weak demand and growing competition in auto sales this year.
Musk said Tesla’s first robotaxi, a fully autonomous vehicle, will be unveiled in August this year.
For Baidu, the deal with Tesla means an increase in software use and data collection for the internet giant. It already has EV partnerships with Xiaomi (OTC:) Corp (HK:) and Huawei, and is reportedly developing an electric vehicle with the latter.