France opposes Tesla and may bar the brand’s ‘autopilot’ in Europe

The French government began to oppose the validation of Full Self-Driving Supervised (FSD), Tesla’s advanced driving assistance system, throughout the territory of the European Union, generating strong opposition to the system. The position, defended by Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, creates a new institutional obstacle to the expansion of the technology in Europe and comes after five countries in the bloc have already released the resource.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania have authorized FSD Supervised in their territories. The Dutch were the first: the homologation came out after more than 18 months of tests on a closed track and on public roads, along a path provided for in European legislation for innovative technologies. Paris, however, argues that the system marketed by the U.S. automaker still poses risks to road safety.

In a videotaped statement, Tabarot said that the technology should not be approved in the current form. “In France, we believe that although this system brings a number of technological advances, the trade-offs in terms of safety are still not sufficient to justify authorization in its current form,” the minister said.

France is not alone. The Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) had already spoken out against the system, pointing out specific operational flaws — among them, the possibility for the driver to set speeds above the legal limits stipulated for each road. Finland and Norway expressed similar reservations, although without taking such a categorical stance. Norway, it is worth noting, is not part of the European Union and does not have the right to vote in the decision.

For the technology to get the definitive green light throughout the bloc, the favorable vote of at least 15 of the 27 member states, a group that needs to represent at least 65% of the population of the European Union, is indispensable. Faced with the regulatory impasse, Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, took to the social network X to criticize Paris’ position. “Delaying the approval of the FSD in France will cost lives,” he wrote on July 22.

What is FSD Supervised after all

Despite the ambitious commercial nomenclature, FSD Supervised operates at Level 2 of automation — far from Level 5, which corresponds to fully autonomous driving. The driver remains fully responsible for the operation of the vehicle, is obliged to supervise traffic and must resume manual control immediately at any time.

In practice, the system uses the car’s external cameras and artificial intelligence to control steering, braking and acceleration. It is capable of driving in an urban environment, dealing with intersections and performing lane changes, while an internal camera continuously monitors the attention of those behind the wheel. In countries where it has already been released, the feature is offered by subscription.

The outcome of the European regulatory dispute has retroactive effect, and this is what raises the stakes for Tesla: if the FSD Supervised is rejected at the EU level, the national authorizations already granted by the five pioneer countries will be revoked.