Tesla’s share price jumped almost 12% as markets opened in the US on Monday and means the stock has recovered some of the value it has lost since the start of the year, with the price down over a quarter since January.
The Chinese approval — which hasn’t been officially confirmed by Tesla or Baidu but was reported by AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and others — comes after Mr Musk flew to China on the weekend to meet with senior officials.
State media quoted Mr Musk as saying Tesla wanted co-operation with the country to “achieve more win-win results”.
Part of the reason analysts believe the firm needs approval in China is because its financial performance has weakened.
In its results last Tuesday, it recorded $21.3bn (£17bn) in sales for the first three months of this year.
This was a drop from the $23.3bn recorded in the first three months of 2023 and lower than analysts’ predictions of just over $22bn.
It pinned its falling sales on “additional competitors” and “changes in government and economic incentives” for electric vehicles.
US revenue decreased from $11.2bn to $9.76bn, while Chinese sales fared better, falling from $4.89bn to $4.59bn.
