The company’s driver-assistance technology, branded “FSD (Supervised),” recently received approval from the Dutch road authority RDW in April. That decision has now been escalated to the European level, with Dutch officials expected to present their case to an EU regulatory committee.
Musk struck an optimistic tone during an April 22 call with analysts, saying, “We expect to be approved in a lot of other countries,” and suggesting Tesla could eventually expand into fully autonomous robotaxis across Europe. The automaker is banking heavily on that outcome, particularly as it looks to recover lost ground in a region where its market share has slipped in recent years.
Yet internal correspondence among regulators across northern Europe paints a more cautious picture. Officials in countries including Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have raised concerns about both the system’s real-world performance and how it is presented to consumers.
Among the issues flagged were reports that the system may allow vehicles to exceed speed limits, uncertainty over how it performs on icy roads, and whether drivers can bypass safeguards meant to prevent distractions like mobile phone use. One Swedish official said he was “quite surprised” to learn the system could permit speeding, arguing such behavior should not be allowed under any circumstances.
Questions were also raised about how the technology would handle uniquely regional hazards. In Finland, an official asked: “Are they really introducing a system that allows hands-free driving also on icy 80 km/h roads?” Regulators even discussed edge cases such as encounters with wildlife, including moose, which are common on Nordic roads.
Beyond technical concerns, some regulators expressed unease with Tesla’s branding. The term “Full Self-Driving,” despite the “Supervised” qualifier, could give drivers a false sense of autonomy. One investigator questioned whether the name “risks giving consumers a misleading impression” of what the system can actually do.
There has also been frustration over Tesla’s public strategy. Regulators reported being inundated with messages from Tesla owners urging approval—an outcome Musk himself has encouraged. Following one such wave of emails, a Norwegian official noted authorities “will need to use a lot of effort to answer misled consumers.” A Tesla policy manager later acknowledged the issue, writing that “such emails are usually not helpful for the approval process.”
Despite skepticism, not all feedback has been negative. Some regulators acknowledged strong performance in complex urban environments. A Danish official noted the system handled rush-hour traffic in Copenhagen well, while a Dutch regulator praised its navigation around Paris’s Arc de Triomphe.
The approval process at the EU level remains complex. For the system to gain authorization, representatives from at least 55% of member states—accounting for 65% of the bloc’s population—must support it. No vote is expected immediately, with further discussions likely in the coming months.
For Tesla, the stakes are high. The company offers FSD as a subscription service, and broader approval could unlock new revenue streams while strengthening its competitive position, particularly against rising Chinese EV manufacturers. Some investors believe success in Europe could significantly boost profitability.
Still, regulators appear in no rush. Several countries have indicated they will wait for more detailed documentation and the outcome of ongoing discussions before taking a position. For now, Tesla’s ambitious timeline for a continent-wide rollout faces a more measured—and uncertain—path forward.