Tesla’s 2026 capital expenditure is expected to exceed $20 billion, with a focus on AI computing power, robot factories, and Robotaxi. Recently, Tesla Vice President Grace (Tao Lin) revealed information regarding the “FSD Entry into China” for the first time during an exchange session. In the interview, Grace disclosed that Tesla has built and put into operation its own AI training center in China. Both data and computing power are deployed locally to meet the compliance training requirements for FSD in China. It is worth mentioning that Tesla’s data center in Shanghai was completed and began operations in 2021. By the end of 2025, this data center had accumulated over 30 billion kilometers of Chinese road data, with an addition of approximately 1.2 million kilometers of data per day. However, due to restrictions such as the inability to cross-border transfer data, this data center has long lacked the high-performance computing (HPC) clusters required for large-scale AI training. Core AI model training still primarily relies on superclusters in the United States. Grace specifically emphasized on this point that Tesla’s assisted driving data does not need to leave the country. Both the computing centers and training are conducted locally within China, strictly adhering to data compliance requirements. This indicates that Tesla is establishing a complete localized training closed-loop in China. From this interview, we can see clear signals of a shift in Tesla’s strategic focus for 2026. According to Grace’s statements, 2026 is expected to become a critical turning point for Tesla, shifting from a “vehicle growth logic” to an “AI infrastructure logic.” In the global market, Tesla’s capital expenditure for 2026 is projected to exceed $200 billion, with key investments directed towards AI computing power, robot factories, mass production of the unmanned electric vehicle Cybercab, energy storage and manufacturing, charging networks, and battery factories, among other areas. cybercab Specifically for the Chinese market, the general direction will align with the global strategy, still focusing on the two core domains of Energy and AI. This includes the continuous construction and upgrading of software and hardware capabilities. Regarding the specific timeline for FSD’s deployment in China, Grace did not provide a clear answer. She added that the “February” timeline previously mentioned by Elon Musk actually referred to progress in the European market, not China. Tesla official website job postings Running parallel to the deployment of computing power is Tesla’s accelerated effort to build up a reserve of local AI talent. Tesla’s China official website shows that the Shanghai R&D Center is urgently hiring AI scientists and High-Performance Computing (HPC) engineers to accelerate the iteration of local intelligent driving algorithms. It is noteworthy that this recruitment drive is not limited to the autonomous driving field but also covers AI training positions for the humanoid robot Optimus. This series of actions marks Tesla’s FSD entry into China entering a substantive advancement stage characterized by “infrastructure first, algorithms follow.”
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