Amid buzz surrounding Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Full Self-Driving system's expansion into Europe, the region's safety regulator has responded.
RDW Says Tesla Working On February 2026 FSD Demo
In an official statement released on Monday, the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority) stated that the EV giant had a schedule in place through which "Tesla is expected to demonstrate in February 2026 that FSD Supervised meets the required standards," RDW said.
The regulator added that whether the timeline will be reached or not is yet to be determined, but assured that both parties are engaged in efforts to meet the timeline. "For the RDW, (road) safety is paramount," it said in the statement.
RDW also said that it cannot share any other details about Tesla's or other such applications, as they can contain "commercially sensitive information." The regulator also urged people not to contact the authority about Tesla's application, as "it takes up unnecessary time for our customer service" and will have no bearing on Tesla's application.
RDW Shares Insight Into Approval Process
The regulator also shared an insight into the approval process, saying that if an application for a technology has been received by authorities for which no prior legislation exists, a "Member State must submit an application to the European Commission on behalf of the manufacturer."
RDW added that approval is subject to majority approval from member states, after which exemptions are issued to the manufacturer for the technology.
Should a majority not be reached, the exemption will only apply to the submitting member and other states can then independently examine the application.
Before approval, a manufacturer must demonstrate that the technology complies with regulations and "must undergo a comprehensive testing procedure with a type approval authority."
It's worth noting that the technology is under the radar of NHTSA, which launched a probe into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles in the U.S. after reviewing incidents of traffic violations and accidents involving the automaker's cars on FSD or Autopilot systems.
Tesla Offered Licensing Opportunities
The response comes amid Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s claims that the automaker offered FSD technology to legacy automakers through licensing opportunities, but added that there were no takers for the system.
He also likened the automakers to dinosaurs, hinting that they run the risk of being left behind in the autonomous driving race. Meanwhile, an analyst from market research firm Melius Research said that the company had a lead on its competitors through the FSD tech.
Tesla FSD's Final Puzzle Piece
Musk also touted the upcoming FSD v14.3 update as the final puzzle piece for the company's self-driving efforts, possibly hinting that Tesla could achieve unsupervised autonomous driving post the update.
Meanwhile, Gerber Kawasaki's co-founder Ross Gerber recently hailed the improvements in Tesla's FSD v14, calling it a big step up from previous versions as he shared his experiences with the system in the investor's Cybertruck.
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