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Arizona — not China — is the best place for Tesla’s self-driving future

April 14, 2025

Tesla’s testing and deployment of its Full Self-Driving technology in China has become a regulatory quagmire for the company. While China’s vast market and apparent government cooperation may appear tempting, Tesla’s entanglement with the bureaucratic machinery of state capitalism has only reinforced what should be obvious: the more transparent, stable and innovation-friendly regulatory environment at home in the United States continues to set America apart from its authoritarian competition.

No state does it better than Arizona. As a new report from the Goldwater Institute — where I serve as president — makes clear, Phoenix has become the national proving ground for autonomous vehicle deployment, thanks to its clarity of rules and forward-leaning infrastructure.

Tesla’s initial greenlight to test full self-driving in China appeared to be a breakthrough — an entry into a massive, data-rich EV market. But the illusion of regulatory alignment with Beijing quickly ran into the wall of authoritarian oversight. In March, Chinese authorities halted Tesla’s trials under a sweeping new mandate requiring automakers to submit detailed technical information before issuing over-the-air software updates.

Read the rest in The Hill.

Victor Riches is the president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute.

 

 

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