Tesla boss Elon Musk has predicted that all cars will be electric in the future as the car creator gets backing from China amid slump in sales.
The billionaire met with the Chinese Premier Li Qiang over the weekend to help secure backing for its electric taxi plans after sales for Tesla car models continue to fall.
Last week Musk revealed Tesla would introduce new cheaper models using its current EV platforms to help combat the poor sales.
He also added that Tesla would roll out its new "robotaxi" with self-driving technology this summer on August 8.
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Tesla is set to rollout 'robotaxi' in summer
REUTERSSpeaking to the Premier, footage showed Musk claiming that “all cars will be electric in the future” as China continues to dominate the market. Across Europe, one in five cars are currently China made, with fears the UK will soon follow.
The meeting in China marked a significant move for the carmaker as Tesla’s have for years been banned from entering Chinese military complexes over “security concerns” over cameras installed on its vehicles.
Its cars have also been turned away from being present as political events, such as the 2022 annual summer leadership conclave held by the Communist Party.
The change in tune from Tesla comes as the car manufacturer hones in on its self-driving car technology which will be rolled out in China too for the first time.
Speaking to the Premier, footage showed Musk claiming that “all cars will be electric in the future” as China continues to dominate the market. Across Europe, one in five cars are currently China made, with fears the UK will soon follow.
The meeting in China marked a significant move for the carmaker as Tesla’s have for years been banned from entering Chinese military complexes over “security concerns” over cameras installed on its vehicles.
Its cars have also been turned away from being present at political events, such as the 2022 annual summer leadership conclave held by the Communist Party.
The change in tune from Tesla comes as the car manufacturer hones in on its self-driving car technology which will be rolled out in China too for the first time.
Two sources told Reuters that Tesla had reached an agreement with Chinese internet company Baidu to use its mapping license for data collection on China's public roads, which they described as a "key step" for self-driving cars to be introduced in the country.
Dan Ives a Wedbush analyst explained that if Musk is able to obtain approval from Beijing to transfer data collected in China abroad this would be a “game changer around the acceleration of training its algorithms for its autonomous technology globally."
He Xiaopeng, the CEO of XPeng which operates a similar to self-driving tech to Tesla, said on his Weibo account that he welcomed the entry of the Tesla technology into China.
He commented: "Only when we have better products and technologies entering China can we provide a better experience to the market and customers and let the market develop in a healthy manner and at a faster pace. Let a hundred flowers bloom.”
Tesla recently announced profits of $1.13billion in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $2.51billion last year.
The vast drops in profits come at the same time when Tesla is dealing with enormous changes to its workflow, with the carmaker forced to let go of more than 10 per cent of its employees.
Tesla would be one of the first car brands to roll out automated driving vehicles with the UK following closely behind once regulation is passed.
The Automated Vehicles Bill has been making its way through parliament and once approved into British law, carmakers, including Tesla will be able to start putting its “robotaxis” on UK roads.
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REUTERSThe Bill is currently at the Report Stage in the House of Commons with it only requiring a few more approvals before receiving Royal Ascent.