Tesla wants to expand its controversial Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in Europe and has submitted new applications to the relevant regulatory authorities. However, a recent report by Reuters, also picked up by German news site ntg24.de, suggests that Tesla is using misleading safety data.
Experts criticize that Tesla primarily uses data from regions with lower accident rates for the European market, while actual performance in Europe differs due to factors like poorer infrastructure or narrower roads. Tesla itself always argues that FSD is safer than a human driver – but critics believe the data basis is manipulated.
The Problem Areas in Detail
US vs. Europe: Comparison Invalid?
Tesla has FSD deployed in around one million vehicles in the US and collects comprehensive telemetry data there. In Europe, FSD Supervised is only approved in a few countries like the Netherlands, Germany, and Norway on selected routes. A direct comparison of accident rates is considered invalid by traffic researchers:Dubious Calculation Method
According to Reuters, Tesla internally uses a so-called "FSD Accident Rate" value that only counts accidents if the vehicle was autonomously controlled before the impact and no human intervention occurred. This excludes many accidents where the driver intervened too late or the system did not warn the driver in time. Additionally, the figures rely on a relatively small sample in Europe that is not statistically significant.Reactions from EU Member States
In several countries such as Switzerland and the Czech Republic, transport ministries have now made it clear that the Dutch RDW approval will not be automatically recognized. Independent reviews are also being demanded in Romania and Slovenia. This undermines Tesla's strategy to access the entire EU market through a single national approval.Read also: Reuters report on Tesla FSD safety data: Critics consider article misleading and Czech Ministry of Transport comments on Tesla FSD Supervised.