Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed confidence that the European Union will soon approve the carmaker’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system. However, emails from several European regulators show significant doubt about the technology and its claimed safety benefits.
Tesla’s “FSD (Supervised)” technology received approval from the Dutch road regulator RDW in April. Now, the RDW is seeking EU-wide approval for FSD, with an important committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
“We expect to be approved in a lot of other countries,” Musk told analysts on an April 22 conference call. He added that Tesla would then push for approval of driverless robotaxis in Europe.
Tesla has a lot riding on FSD approval in Europe. The company is trying to regain market share it has lost over the past two years there. Tesla charges a monthly subscription for FSD, which can steer the car under certain conditions but still requires the driver to pay full attention at all times.
However, in previously unrevealed email exchanges, regulators in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway have raised several concerns about the technology. These countries could be crucial to Musk’s efforts to get FSD approved.
According to emails seen by Reuters through public records requests, these concerns include the system’s tendency to speed, whether it is safe to use on icy roads, and how easily drivers can get around features designed to prevent cell-phone use. Regulators also expressed frustration with Tesla’s strategy of publicly urging vehicle owners to pressure them into approving FSD.
On Tuesday, the EU committee will hear from Dutch officials about why they approved Tesla’s FSD and why other EU member states should follow their lead. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment regarding these concerns.
For FSD to get approved, committee members representing 55% of EU member states and 65% of the bloc’s population must vote “yes.” No vote on FSD is scheduled for this week. The next committee meetings are expected in July and October.
The emails reviewed by Reuters showed a Tesla policy manager lobbying Swedish authorities to approve FSD just four days after the Netherlands announced its decision on April 10. This happened before regulators had even reviewed any documents about the technology.
Tesla also contacted Estonia and Finland, asking these countries to recognize the Dutch approval, as confirmed by the countries and the emails. Regulators for Sweden, Finland, and Estonia told Reuters they would review the information presented at Tuesday’s committee meeting before making any decisions.
