Sweden threatens to block Tesla FSD over deliberate speeding

Tesla’s highly anticipated rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software across the European Union has hit a major roadblock, as Swedish transport authorities are recommending a vote against the technology unless the automaker disables a feature allowing cars to deliberately break speed limits.

According to an April letter sent to the EU's Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV)—recently obtained via a freedom of information request—the Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) explicitly warned that Tesla's Supervised FSD should be rejected for European roads in its current state. The agency argued that allowing automated driving systems to systematically exceed legal speed limits directly undermines traffic safety frameworks and the core benefits of automation, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

At the center of the dispute is Tesla’s "Speed Offset" feature, which enables users to configure the vehicle to automatically drive at a user-defined margin above the posted legal speed limit. While Tesla’s standard user manuals note that drivers retain ultimate responsibility and should not rely entirely on the automated hardware for compliance, Swedish regulators are refusing to compromise. A TRV spokesperson confirmed that Sweden’s EU representative plans to vote in favor of the software only if the speeding functionality is completely stripped out.

The friction highlights a growing regulatory divide within Europe. The Dutch vehicle authority (RDW) granted provisional type approval to Tesla's FSD system in April, prompting a string of early adoptions from nations like Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, and Belgium. However, under EU regulations, these national approvals are only valid for six months unless an EU-wide qualified majority—requiring 15 out of 27 member states representing 65% of the population—votes to permanently adopt the technology.

If Sweden successfully rallies other skeptical Nordic neighbors like Finland and Norway to block the rollout, the existing provisional approvals in countries like the Netherlands would lapse, forcing Tesla to pull the software from those fleets.

The high-stakes regulatory debate comes at a critical time for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk. Securing continent-wide approval is seen as vital to boosting the company’s European vehicle sales, which are facing aggressive market pressure from low-cost Chinese electric vehicle imports. The EU committee is scheduled to meet on June 30 to further debate the safety parameters of the software, though a definitive, final vote is not expected immediately.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada