Tesla's supervised self-driving tech in Europe faces objection from Sweden

A Swedish transport authority is recommending a vote against the Europe-wide rollout of Tesla’s supervised self-driving software unless the US electric vehicle maker disables its ability to exceed legal speed limits, according to a regulatory letter, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

In a previously unreported letter dated April 30, obtained through a freedom of information request, the Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) said Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature should not be approved for European Union roads unless its ability to ignore speed limits is removed.

The letter was sent to the EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), which is scheduled to meet again on June 30 to discuss the matter ahead of a later vote on the technology’s EU-wide deployment.

Tesla has already received approval in some European countries for FSD, which allows vehicles to steer themselves on city streets and highways under human supervision. EU-wide approval would support Tesla’s sales in the region, where it faces increasing competition from Chinese EV makers.

Tesla, led by CEO Elon Musk, did not respond to requests for comment. Its user manual states that drivers should not rely solely on the system for speed limits and must “drive at a safe speed based on traffic and road conditions.”

The FSD system also allows users to set a “Speed Offset,” enabling vehicles to exceed posted limits by a driver-defined margin.

In its letter, the TRV said that “allowing automated systems to systematically exceed legal speed limits ... risks undermining both the legal framework and the expected safety benefits of vehicle automation.”

It called for the feature to be removed. “Failing this, the Swedish Transport Administration recommends that TCMV vote against the proposed introduction,” it added.

Internal documents reviewed by Reuters show the Swedish Transport Agency (STA), the country’s national type approval body, has raised concerns with Tesla and Dutch regulator RDW, including during a two-hour meeting on June 4. The RDW approved the use of FSD in April and is supporting an EU-wide rollout.

A TRV spokesperson said its position had not changed since the April letter and remained aligned with the STA.

“It is my understanding that Sweden’s representative in TCMV will only vote in favour if Tesla’s speeding functionality is removed,” the spokesperson said.

The STA, which represents Sweden at the TCMV, said discussions were ongoing within the EU committee and that it was “assessing the matter to establish a Swedish position.”

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev