(Yicai) May 9 -- China is likely to support Tesla's proposal of testing its highly advanced autopilot functions in taxis in China, officials said to a local newspaper.

China "welcomes Tesla to do some robotaxi tests in the country" and hopes the automaker will "set a good example," China Daily reported yesterday, citing officials. 

Authorities have not approved the use of Tesla's most advanced autopilot software called Full Self-Driving yet but car owners can use assisted driving on expressways. Before the American company could launch FSD functions in China, it must get approval from regulators to collect and transfer data from the cars.

Tesla is looking for new growth as the electric vehicle giant's stock price is down nearly 30 percent this year. In addition to deploying FSD, Chief Executive Elon Musk suggested rolling out robotaxi products and services during his recent visit to the Asian country where the firm has a factory, China Daily reported. Musk said earlier on X that Tesla plans to release a robotaxi service on Aug. 8.

Authorities have already given the green light to a map designed for advanced driver-assistance systems, developed by Baidu and Tesla, a source familiar with the matter said to Yicai earlier.

It is essential to allow companies to conduct self-driving tests on open roads to encourage the development of such technologies and Tesla could push more Chinese cities to do just that, Xiao Jianxiong, founder and CEO of AutoX, told Yicai. 

Editor: Emmi Laine