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China, the world's largest automobile market, is witnessing a surge in the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous driving technology. Tesla, a global leader in EV manufacturing, is at the forefront of this shift, with its EV charging network reaching 16.7 million units and recording a monthly usage of 7.71 billion kWh.

Tesla's presence in China has been growing steadily. From January to July, the company delivered 294,105 vehicles, marking a 50% increase compared to the same period last year. The company's success in China is not limited to sales alone; Tesla is also making significant strides in the development of autonomous driving systems.

In a move to strengthen its position in the Chinese market, Tesla announced the establishment of a data center in China on August 14. This decision comes after concerns about data privacy, as the Chinese government expressed fears about potential spying earlier in May 2021. Tesla has assured that it will store Chinese car data locally, a commitment that is expected to allay these concerns.

Tesla is not alone in its pursuit of autonomous driving in China. Chinese tech giant Baidu is working closely with Tesla to develop L4 autonomous driving systems for the Chinese market. Geely, another Chinese automaker, has unveiled a new brand, Jiyue, focusing on L4 autonomous driving.

In response to these developments, Tesla is forming a local operational team of around 20 people and a data annotation team comprising about a hundred members in China. These teams are aimed at accelerating the deployment of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) solution in the Chinese market.

However, China's unique road conditions and traffic complexities pose challenges to the performance of FSD. Tesla's US engineers have been sent to China for training to address these specific challenges.

Sentry mode or Guard mode, Tesla's protection feature that monitors the environment around the car when it is left unattended, has been a topic of controversy. The feature recently led to a ban on Tesla vehicles from Sanhe Airport in Yueyang.

Other players in China's autonomous driving market include Huawei, which offers various levels of advanced and autonomous driving systems with its Aito and Avatr brands, and Xpeng, which rolled out its XNGP for urban driving in Beijing in June.

Amidst these developments, Tesla China slashed the Model 3 Long Range price by 1,400 USD less than a month after launch, and a video of a Model Y L fitting six 180 cm adults drew ridicule from car bloggers. Despite these challenges, Tesla remains committed to its expansion in China's autonomous driving market.