RDW defends Tesla FSD approval in the Netherlands citing 3,000 hours of testing and 24 million incident-free kilometers

The Dutch vehicle authority (RDW) has released a detailed statement defending its approval of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD), providing new information about the testing and validation process used before granting approval.

The statement follows criticism raised in a Reuters report that questioned whether Tesla’s safety claims and data, which it claimed was misleading, played too large a role in securing regulatory approval in Europe.

However, the RDW is pushing back on that allegation, saying it conducted more than 3,000 hours of testing using its own equipment, including over 1,000 test runs on public roads and test tracks, covering a wide range of scenarios.

The regulator says it also analyzed data from 1.8 million kilometres driven in Europe with FSD enabled.

Beyond their own testing, RDW said experts independently reviewed Tesla’s data collection and analysis methods to ensure the information was accurate, complete, and compliant with European regulations.

According to the RDW, Tesla’s data was only one part of an evaluation process that lasted more than 18 months.

“The RDW does not base its assessment solely on information provided by the manufacturer,” the agency said. “We carried out extensive independent investigation.”

The RDW also said that monitoring did not stop once approval was given, and that in fact it has increased the requirements for Tesla. While European rules typically require annual reporting, the Dutch regulator has increased Tesla’s reporting frequency to monthly submissions.

According to the RDW, nearly 40,000 Teslas equipped with FSD Supervised have now driven approximately 24 million kilometres in the Netherlands since approval was granted, with no “relevant incidents” reported.

The statement comes one day after comments made by Dutch officials that the approval was based on independent testing and regulatory review, not Tesla marketing claims.