Germany’s transport minister is pushing for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) to receive approval across the European Union, but says the country could consider going its own way if an EU-wide agreement can’t be reached.
Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger made the comments Tuesday during a transportation conference in Berlin. According to a report from German publication heise, Bilger said reaching an agreement at the European level remains the preferred option. However, if that fails, officials would need to discuss “what could be done in Germany.”
That could give Tesla another path into one of Europe’s largest automotive markets while the broader EU approval process continues to drag on.
As we previously reported, FSD Supervised received its first European approval from Dutch regulator RDW on April 10. That authorization was issued under Article 39 of EU Regulation 2018/858, which allows exemptions for new technologies that don’t fit within existing regulations.
Other EU countries can recognize that Dutch approval individually, something several have already done. Most recently, Croatia became the eighth European country to approve FSD Supervised, joining the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, Slovenia and Czechia.
Germany could potentially follow the same route. However, German regulators aren’t ready to sign off just yet.
The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) is reviewing the Dutch approval documents and plans to conduct its own testing. Among the issues being examined is FSD’s ability to exceed detected speed limits under certain circumstances, an issue that has also drawn scrutiny elsewhere in Europe.
Bilger acknowledged there are still technical and liability questions to resolve, but emphasized the potential benefits of new technology, including improved road safety.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s path to an EU-wide approval has been pushed back. The Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) is discussing the Dutch request on October 6, but no vote is scheduled. That means a decision is now expected in December at the earliest.
If Germany ultimately decides to recognize the Dutch approval independently, Tesla could launch FSD there without waiting for the rest of the EU, significantly expanding its European footprint while the bloc-wide process continues.
Related Articles:
- EU vote on Tesla FSD slips beyond October
- Tesla FSD EU-Wide Approval Decision Now Expected in December
- Croatia becomes eighth European country to approve Tesla FSD
- Tesla finally secures FSD approval in the Netherlands
Always get the latest - make Drive Tesla your preferred source on Google
Are you buying a Tesla? If you enjoy our content and we helped in your decision, use our referral link to get three months of Full Self-Driving (FSD).Drive Tesla uses affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
