Tesla’s dreams for self-driving cars face a slow road in Europe

Tesla wants its electric cars to drive themselves all over Europe and right now, Elon Musk's company is trying to get its "Full Self-Driving" software, or FSD, cleared for use on public roads across the continent. One country already said yes, but many others are still shaking their heads. It turns out that teaching a car to drive in Europe is much harder than expected.

In April, the Netherlands gave Tesla a big win. The Dutch road safety group RDW officially approved FSD for use. This was supposed to be the spark that started a fire across the European Union. Tesla fans hoped that if one country said yes, every other country would follow quickly. But the rest of Europe is not moving anywhere near as fast as a Tesla in "Ludicrous Mode."

Regulators in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway are very worried. They have been looking closely at Tesla's tech, and they have questions. One of the main issues comes from Sweden. Hans Nordin, who works for the Swedish Transport Agency, noticed that Tesla's software sometimes lets the car go faster than the legal speed limit. A car that chooses to break the law is a problem, and regulators want these EVs to follow the rules perfectly, not treat speed restrictions like suggestions.

Finland has its own set of worries, and they mostly involve the weather. Jukka Juhola, a Finnish transport official, is concerned about what happens when the sun goes down and the snow starts to fall. He asked a very good question: how will a Tesla handle an icy road at 50 mph? Driving on ice is hard for humans, and it is even harder for a computer. Juhola wants to know if these EVs can actually perform a quick move to avoid a crash when the ground is slippery. So far, he is not convinced that the software is ready for a Nordic winter.

Then there is the problem with the name itself. Tesla calls the system "Full Self-Driving," but the version they want to bring to Europe is called "FSD Supervised." This means the car does most of the work, but a person must still sit in the driver's seat and watch the road. Regulators think the name "Full Self-Driving" is a bit of a lie. They worry that drivers will hear the name and think they can take a nap or play games on their phones.

Speaking of phones, that is another sticking point. Officials are worried that people will use the self-driving mode as an excuse to text or browse the web. Tesla says its "Supervised" system requires eyes on the road at all times. However, keeping people focused is hard when the car is doing most of the steering. Regulators want more proof that drivers will stay alert before they let thousands of these electric cars start driving themselves through busy city streets.

Tesla tried to speed things up by asking its fans to help. The company encouraged owners to send emails to regulators to push for approval. This plan may have backfired. Instead of helping, the flood of emails just annoyed the officials. One official in Norway said he had to spend his valuable time answering "misled consumers." Even Tesla's own policy manager in the EU admitted that these mass emails were not helpful.

The Dutch regulators are also keeping their secrets for now. They have not shared the data they used to approve FSD in the Netherlands. Until the RDW shows its homework, other countries are going to stay skeptical. They want to see the hard facts and safety numbers before they trust Tesla's software with their citizens' lives. This lack of sharing is slowing down the whole process for electric cars across the region.

To get the green light for the whole European Union, there is a lot of math involved. Tesla needs a "yes" vote from 55% of the member states. Also, those states must represent at least 65% of the total population in the EU. That is a very high bar to clear. There were no votes scheduled recently, and the next big meetings are not until July and October. This means Tesla owners in Europe will have to keep their hands on the wheel for at least a few more months.

The Netherlands remains a lonely island for Tesla's FSD and the road to self-driving EVs in Europe is full of red tape, grumpy regulators, and icy Finnish roads. Tesla has the technology, but they still need to prove that it is safe for everyone. Until they fix the speeding issues and the confusing name, Europe might keep its foot on the brake.

Via