The likelihood that US electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla will obtain Beijing’s approval for higher-level autonomous driving remains a distant prospect, according to analysts. Though Tesla recently hired people to test its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in China, many obstacles remained, with data regulation a core issue, they said. Earlier this month, China outlined its first mandatory standards for autonomous driving systems, setting requirements for vehicles that feature level 3 (L3) and level 4 (L4) self-driving functions. “The foundation [of the approval] would be the regulations over data,” said Xing Lei, an independent analyst and founder of automotive platform AutoXing. L3 capability refers to “hands-off” driving in a conditionally automated vehicle, while L4 is defined as technology where drivers can be “minds-off”, according to a set of standards published by SAE International.