The automaker posted job openings earlier this month for positions including autopilot test engineers, data labellers, and real test operators, marked “urgent,” according to company recruitment notices on its website. The hiring spree spans nine major Chinese cities, including key auto and tech hubs Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has long viewed the launch of Tesla’s so-called Full Self-Driving — which, despite its name, still requires constant human supervision and intervention — as crucial for the company’s next stage of growth in China, where it has steadily been losing market share to local carmakers.
Musk had previously expected to officially launch the advanced driver-assistance technology as early as February, but last month, executives said regulatory approval is now expected by the third quarter of the year.
China is such an important market for Tesla that Musk was among a group of US executives, including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook and Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg, who accompanied President Donald Trump on his trip to Beijing earlier this month.
The new roles underscore the logistical and technical hurdles Tesla is working to overcome to get the software over the line.
According to the job descriptions, Autopilot Test Engineers will require significant flexibility, with responsibilities including domestic and international travel to perform validation testing for both existing and upcoming regulatory and rating protocols. Candidates must possess the ability to interpret intricate local regulations and test procedures, it said.
The Real-World Test Operators will be tasked with identifying software improvements and regressions across software iterations. The goal, Tesla said in the postings, is to accelerate vehicle-level testing for all current and future Autopilot features on what the company describes as the “path to full self-driving.”
Cracking the Chinese market for advanced driver-assistance is vital for Tesla as it battles an onslaught of homegrown rivals. Companies like Xiaomi, Huawei and Xpeng Inc. have deployed their own sophisticated urban driving systems as standard features, eroding Tesla’s technological edge.
A successful deployment of FSD also represents more than just a premium feature upgrade and is a cornerstone of Tesla’s long-term financial strategy. The company is betting on the software to attract tech-savvy consumers and unlock a lucrative stream of recurring subscription revenue to offset a bruising EV price war in China that has squeezed automotive margins globally.
Musk has also staked the company’s future on winning the race to full autonomous driving, saying that without it, the $1.5 trillion company is just another automaker.
While Tesla has received partial approvals in China and started pilot test launches more than a year ago, it has been unable to move forward with a nationwide rollout. It also dropped the FSD moniker in China last year to comply with tougher local rules that require automakers to be clear about what their features can and can’t do.
The carmaker has spent years laying the groundwork for its assisted driving technology in the country by establishing a local data centre in Shanghai and forging a mapping partnership with Baidu Inc.
