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Tesla Halts Driving-Assistance Software Trial in China, Pending Approval 

A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives using FSD (Full Self-Driving) in Encinitas, California, US, October 18, 2023. (Reuters)
A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives using FSD (Full Self-Driving) in Encinitas, California, US, October 18, 2023. (Reuters)
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Tesla Halts Driving-Assistance Software Trial in China, Pending Approval 

A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives using FSD (Full Self-Driving) in Encinitas, California, US, October 18, 2023. (Reuters)
A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives using FSD (Full Self-Driving) in Encinitas, California, US, October 18, 2023. (Reuters)

Tesla said on Monday it would release its smart driving-assistance feature in China after completing regulatory approval, following complaints that a limited-time free trial of its Full Self-Driving service had been temporarily paused.

"All parties are actively advancing the relevant process and we will push it to you as soon as it is ready. We are also looking forward to it, please wait patiently," Tesla's customer support said on social media platform Weibo.

The message was posted as a comment under a feed of Tesla vice president Grace Tao's Weibo account.

The company said last Monday that it would launch the free trial of its FSD service in China between March 17 and April 16.

FSD is a suite of driving-assistance technologies developed with generative artificial intelligence to cope with more complicated traffic conditions.

Tesla is aiming for a full roll out of FSD this year, and is working with Chinese tech giant Baidu to improve the performance of the system, Reuters previously reported.

Tesla has offered such trials in the United States, where its FSD system does not require navigation maps to be accurate or up-to-date because local training of the AI helps the technology drive better.

But in China, Tesla has been unable to train the system with data from its 2 million EVs because of the country's data laws.

In late February, China's industry ministry issued new rules requiring autonomous driving-related over-the-air software upgrades to be subject to regulatory approval.

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Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
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Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Microsoft pledged Wednesday to fight any US government order to halt data center operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that trans-Atlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.

The company's president, Brad Smith, said it's not something that officials are talking about in Washington, D.C. but it is a “real concern” for Microsoft's customers across Europe, which include governments.

President Donald Trump has stoked tensions between the US and Europe with his tariff-fueled trade war, and alarmed European leaders with policy changes, including pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine, that throw into doubt his administration's commitment to the trans-Atlantic relationship, The AP news reported.

Smith, speaking at an event in Brussels, tried to allay concerns as he announced that the company was expanding data center operations across Europe.

“What we want Europeans to know is that they can count on us,” he said in a speech.

“In the unlikely event we are ever ordered by any government anywhere in the world to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe, we are committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure using all legal avenues available, including by pursuing litigation in court,” Smith wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

He noted that Microsoft has experience fighting lawsuits from the previous Trump administration as well as from former President Barack Obama’s administration.

“If we ever find ourselves losing we will put in place business continuity arrangements” that include storing computer code in Switzerland that European partners can access, he said.

Microsoft is making five digital commitments to Europe, including increasing its data center capacity by 40 in 16 countries over the next two years, Smith said. The expansion will cost tens of billions of dollars annually. Smith declined to be more specific about the cost when asked by reporters.

The expansion comes amid calls for Europe to assert tech and data sovereignty by weaning itself off reliance from big US cloud data service providers, including Microsoft, Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Google.

“Given recent geopolitical volatility, we recognize that European governments likely will consider additional options,” and Microsoft is committed to collaborating with European companies, Smith said.