Reuters: how Tesla pressured European regulators over FSD. Musk says delay “will cost lives”; researchers say there’s no evidence
A Reuters investigation shows Tesla pushed the Dutch regulator RDW for a cheaper, narrower review and rallied fans on social media. Seven researchers say Tesla’s data doesn’t show that FSD prevents fatal crashes.
Tesla pressured European authorities to speed up approval of FSD (Supervised), according to a Reuters investigation published yesterday. The agency reviewed hundreds of pages of correspondence between Tesla and regulators in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Italy and Switzerland.
What Reuters found
- The RDW dispute. Tesla challenged the cost and scope of the review by the Dutch regulator RDW, including a €365,000 bill. A week later, an RDW employee invited the company to suggest how the required effort could be "adjusted or reduced." RDW then agreed to monitor some tests remotely and billed for fewer staff.
- The safety data. Seven traffic-safety researchers reviewed the European study Tesla submitted. Their verdict: it doesn't show that FSD prevents fatal crashes. Instead of crash data, Tesla relied on indirect measures such as horn use, turn-signal use, and sudden acceleration and braking.
- Fans on X. After French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said in July that France couldn't back FSD, Musk posted that delaying approval "will cost lives." Tabarot's account was then flooded with messages, and regulators in Sweden and Norway received dozens of emails in the same vein. Tabarot has since softened his stance after a call with Musk.
What Tesla and RDW say
RDW says talks with manufacturers are "a routine part" of the assessment and don't affect its independence. According to the regulator, the approval was based on more than 3,000 hours of testing and over 1,000 test runs, on closed tracks and public roads. Tesla didn't respond to Reuters' questions. Meanwhile, the company has published data from more than 100 million kilometers driven in Europe that it says shows cars using FSD have 4.1 times fewer collisions than manually driven Teslas.
Where the EU vote stands
FSD (Supervised) is already approved in eight EU countries, and Germany has said it will back it at EU level under the name "Tesla Assisted Driving." The vote has been pushed back to December at the earliest. To win approval, Tesla needs 55% of member states, representing at least 65% of the EU's population. Meanwhile, Slovakia is preparing to become the ninth country to recognize the Dutch approval.
