Tesla’s full self-driving feature could be hitting Europe’s roads sooner rather than later, but German regulators are insisting on a name change.
In a post by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Minister Steffen Bilger said that he is in favor of a “quick approval” of the feature in the EU. However, the ministry insists that the current name “FSD” is “a little misleading” because the car does not take over the entire driving process. While the system can accelerate, brake and steer, the human driver must monitor it at all times and remain in charge. As a result, Tesla reportedly renamed the system “Tesla Assisted Driving.”
The name of the feature itself was not the only roadblock on the way to approval. Bilger says “many technical aspects” as well as issues around liability still need to be resolved, although he said he “reached a common understanding and a constructive agreement” after meeting with the company in September.
“My goal is that Tesla drivers can benefit from assisted driving in the EU as soon as possible,” said Bilger.
At the time of writing, FSD is approved in eight European countries: Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Croatia. An EU-wide vote is not expected before December.
Relations between Tesla and EU regulators appear to be heating up. CEO Elon Musk wrote “thank you very much” in a post on X earlier this week, responding to the news that Bilger had pushed for the FSD approval. Musk previously slammed the EU for its “extreme regulatory burden”, which he claimed “stifles innovation”.
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The Full Self-Driving name has also attracted criticism from US regulators. In December 2025, an administrative law judge in California ruled that Tesla misled consumers by using the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving”, a decision accepted by the state Department of Motor Vehicles. In February 2026, Tesla sued the DMV to overturn the ruling, arguing that it was wrongly labeled as a false advertiser and that it clearly states that its cars cannot drive themselves.
The news comes as Tesla charges more and more for access to its driver assistance features. In January, Tesla discontinued its Autopilot driver-assist feature on new vehicles in the US and Canada, instead pushing buyers into a $99 per month Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscription for features that were previously included for free, such as Autosteer.
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