Tesla shares soar 17% in reaction to Musk’s China trip

Tesla’s stock shot up 17.5% on Wall Street on Monday as a result of the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, making an unexpected trip to China this past weekend and the news that his cars will be able to utilize Baidu’s maps.

Tesla shares were trading at $198 a share on the New York trading floor at 12:30 p.m.

The deal with Baidu makes it possible for Tesla cars to use China’s Full Self Drive (FSD) driving assistance technology, which may be a significant source of extra money for the manufacturer.

FSD is a subscription service that costs about $99 per month.

As part of the agreement, which was made public soon after Musk and Chinese Premier Li Qiang met, China would also lift the safety-related limitations that were put in place there in 2021.

Dan Ives, a technology analyst at investment bank Wedbush, referred to the agreement as «the missing piece» in Elon Musk’s aim to commercialize autonomous driving.

However, several experts, like Junheng Li, CEO of Warren Capital LLC, were skeptical that the transaction would result in a speedy adoption of FSD in China.