Elon Musk stated that Tesla's supervised Full Self-Driving software could receive approval in Europe and China next month. For European approval, all eyes are on the Netherlands.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) software is very close to regulatory approval in Europe and China. Musk stated that approval for Europe could come next month, with a similar timeline possible in China. The announcement came during Musk's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Tesla aims to increase its software revenue amid a slowdown in global vehicle sales. The rollout of FSD in new markets is considered a critical step for the company's revenue and artificial intelligence goals.
All Eyes on the Netherlands for Europe
FSD's journey in Europe is progressing slowly due to stricter safety regulations and a fragmented regulatory structure compared to the US. For this reason, Tesla is managing the process through the Netherlands. The Dutch vehicle authority RDW announced in November that it plans to make its decision regarding FSD in February.
Tesla had previously stated that if it receives approval from the Netherlands, other European Union countries might recognize this decision, allowing the system to be deployed in some countries without waiting for official EU-wide approval. This approach aims to accelerate the company's expansion in Europe. According to the current timeline of EU regulatory authorities, FSD is not expected to be approved until 2027 at the earliest.
In China, FSD-like smart driving features are available in a limited number of vehicles and in a restricted manner. The company had released a long-awaited Autopilot update in China last February. However, some users expressed disappointment that the system, for which they paid over $9,000, was offered with operational limitations. Distribution was then halted in March, emphasizing the need for additional regulatory approval.
Robotaxi: A Turning Point
The company provides robotaxi services in some parts of the US with a limited fleet under the Robotaxi brand. It was recently announced that Tesla has started offering unsupervised robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Following the spread of this news on social media, Tesla shares closed the day with a 4.2% increase.
While the start of unsupervised driving in Austin is a significant milestone, Tesla's robotaxi goals for multiple major US cities have not yet been realized.
Furthermore, Musk has long emphasized that the artificial intelligence developed for autonomous driving will also form the foundation of Tesla's humanoid robot project, Optimus. In his statement at Davos, Musk predicted that the number of robots would surpass humans in the future. Musk stated that Tesla plans to sell Optimus robots to the public by the end of next year, acknowledging that this timeline is later than previously shared targets. Musk noted that production would initially be "extremely slow and painful" but would accelerate as scale increases.
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