Tesla's Full Self-Driving takes China's toughest test yet and outperforms all its rivals

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system has always been controversial, mostly because the name promises more than the system can currently deliver.

Critics argue that branding a Level 2 driver-assistance system as ‘Full Self-Driving’ has misled consumers and regulators alike.

But despite the baggage around the name, Tesla’s tech appears to be maturing.

A recent real-world highway test in China has put that to the test, with Tesla blowing its competitors out of the water.

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Different cars face chaotic challenges

The test was a collaborative trial organized by Dcar, an automotive media platform owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, and China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

A total of 36 different vehicles were put through a gauntlet of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) challenges.

These weren’t your average lane-keeping or light braking exercises.

The tests simulated chaotic and real-life scenarios: surprise vehicle cut-ins, blacked-out construction zones with stopped trucks, aggressive merges, and even a fake wild boar charging across the highway.

It was a no-holds-barred environment designed to stress-test each car’s ADAS in ways most drivers hope never to experience.

Tesla’s vision-based system, which is found in both the Model X and Model 3, outperformed lidar-equipped rivals like BYD, Huawei, Xpeng, and Xiaomi.

The Model 3 passed five out of six tests, only missing the wild boar challenge.

Meanwhile, the Model X was one of the only cars that managed to slow down to avoid hitting the wild boar.

It also passed five out of six tests, struggling only in the construction zone scenario.

Meanwhile, most Chinese competitors managed to clear only three of the six trials.

In fact, the Xiaomi SU7 only passed one out of six tests, which is surprising considering the SU7 Ultra prototype recently made headlines for obliterating its own Nürburgring record.

But what’s perhaps the most impressive thing about Tesla’s victory is this: the company had no access to local Chinese driving data, due to data export laws.

CEO Elon Musk credited the company’s in-house simulation tools and test tracks for the impressive results.

Due to laws against data export, Tesla achieved the top results in China despite having no local training data.

Tesla is adding training data from our world simulator and test tracks to achieve 6/6. https://t.co/grn336e45v

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2025

Full Self-Driving is still not fully autonomous

Still, a key distinction remains: this was a test of Level 2 ADAS, not full autonomy.

Human drivers kept their hands on the wheel, and there were no scenarios involving bad weather or extreme road conditions, where lidar could prove more useful.

Regulators continue to classify Tesla’s FSD as a supervised system, meaning drivers must remain fully engaged.

The results are nonetheless a win for Tesla, especially as it continues expanding its Robotaxi pilot in Austin and prepares for a possible California launch.

When Tesla’s FSD is truly ready to offer unsupervised autonomy remains uncertain, but it’s clear the tech is evolving fast.

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