Tesla rebrands Full Self‑Driving in China as 'Tesla Assisted Driving'

Tesla has changed the branding of its advanced driver-assistance software in China, replacing “Full Self-Driving” with “Tesla Assisted Driving” on its China-facing materials over the weekend. The change appeared on Tesla’s China website on May 24, according to reports from ArenaEV, The Electric Viking and Electrek. Tesla has not issued a separate public statement on the rename, but its China support and safety pages now use “assisted driving” language and stress that the system requires driver supervision. The move comes days after Tesla said its “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” capabilities were available in China, one of 10 markets listed in an X post cited by CNBC on May 21. CNBC reported that Tesla’s China website listed “intelligent assisted driving” on the Model 3 at a one-time price of 64,000 yuan, or about $9,409. ### When did Tesla change the name in China? (electrek.co) May 24 is the date cited by multiple auto and EV outlets that tracked Tesla’s China website. ArenaEV reported that Tesla had rebranded the package in China to “Tesla Assisted Driving,” while The Electric Viking said Tesla had dropped the “Full Self-Driving” label there amid regulatory pressure. Electrek also reported on May 23 that Tesla was using “Tesla Assisted Driving” in China. (cnbc.com) Tesla’s China website and support pages now use “辅助驾驶,” or assisted driving, in several places. A Tesla China support page headed “Instructions and warnings on the use of assisted driving functions” sets out repeated warnings for drivers to stay attentive and be ready to intervene. Tesla’s China safety page also says “Tesla Assisted Driving” works under the driver’s active supervision. (electrek.co) ### What exactly changed on Tesla’s China materials? Tesla’s China owner documentation still contains references to “FSD 智能辅助驾驶,” which can be read as FSD intelligent assisted driving, in the Model Y manual. But Tesla’s broader consumer-facing language on support and safety pages emphasizes assisted driving rather than self-driving. That suggests the shift is at least partly a marketing and presentation change on public-facing pages, even as technical documentation still carries FSD wording. (tesla.cn) CNBC reported on May 21 that Tesla’s Chinese-language disclaimer said features would be updated “shortly,” indicating the rollout and wording were still in flux. The company’s public website homepage did not show the feature branding directly in the material reviewed. ### Why is the wording important in China? China has been tightening how automakers describe driver-assistance systems, and Tesla’s revised wording brings its branding closer to what the system actually does today. (tesla.cn) CNBC said Tesla’s China launch followed years of delay and came as domestic EV makers had already rolled out their own assisted-driving systems. CNBC also noted that Tesla’s system, despite the name used elsewhere, still requires active driver supervision for steering and braking. (cnbc.com) Electrek described the China rename as “a more truthful name” for the system, while The Electric Viking linked it to regulatory pressure. Those characterizations came from outside observers, not from Tesla. ### Does this mean Tesla changed the product itself? There is no public evidence in the materials reviewed that Tesla changed the core feature set at the same time it changed the branding. (cnbc.com) Tesla’s China owner manual says the system can navigate to destinations, handle turns, roundabouts and highway entry and exit, but also says the driver must remain attentive at all times and ready to take over. The manual says the cabin camera monitors driver attention and warns that misuse can lead to suspension of access. (electrek.co) Tesla’s China safety page makes the same point in broader terms, saying the vehicle can complete most driving tasks with very little intervention only under the driver’s active supervision. ### What should readers watch next? Tesla’s China website, support pages and owner manuals are the clearest places to watch for the next step in the rollout. Any further changes in naming, feature descriptions, price or disclaimers would likely appear there first. (tesla.cn) CNBC said on May 21 that it was still unclear whether Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) capabilities had already been made broadly available to mainstream consumers in China. (cnbc.com) (tesla.cn)