Tesla's Model S's Private GPS for Navigation in China

As reported by Stocks.org: Tesla has certainly experienced its highs and lows, and the company has overcome many challenges. The latest issue that is plaguing the American electric car maker is the compatibility problem of its GPS in China.

Tesla announced a few months ago that its Model S electric car would feature a private GPS system powered by Google Maps and is linked to Google Earth. This GPS system is able to provide the user with information regarding terrains, traffic conditions, and speed limit along various roads. The company also says that the GPS is able to learn the user’s driving habits.

Tesla’s GPS does more than just find the fastest way from point A to point B. Through its integrated technology, it is able to calculate the best route to save battery consumption as well. It is able to approximate the amount of battery charge that each trip takes, and advise whether or not the vehicle has enough battery energy to make the trip. If your car needs to charge along the way, it will find and suggest options with charging stations.

However, this GPS system does not work in China.

Tesla has experienced woes in China ever it tried to break into the Chinese luxury vehicle market. The Model S is considered to be in the segment of luxury cars in China. Including tax, the price is about 1 million RMB.

The Model S vehicles that are sold in China no longer offer the GPS feature. The problem is that Google Maps is not available in China, a country that continues to closely monitor everything that is accessible on the Internet and especially prohibits aerial views of its territory.

Tesla explained all this in an official statement and indicated that engineers are trying to find a solution to bring these features to its customers in China. The company is actively working on an alternative system that supports voice recognition and Chinese writing, and should be available by the end of this year. They said that customers will be kept informed and that once the system is operational, the owners of Tesla S will only start updating their system to have GPS and navigation.