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Tesla pressured Dutch regulator for FSD approval in Europe
Leaked emails reveal Tesla pressured the Dutch RDW for months to ease its review of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, including disputes over invoicing and test requirements. The RDW eventually approved the system, which now underpins FSD's European rollout. However, critics raise concerns about the independence of the approval process and the validity of Tesla's safety claims.
Tesla has reportedly spent months lobbying the Dutch vehicle regulator RDW to ease its review of the "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" system. This information comes from hundreds of pages of correspondence between Tesla and European regulators, obtained by Reuters through public-records requests, with the Dutch exchanges being particularly revealing.
In November 2024, a Tesla staff member informed the RDW that commencing vehicle tests by the end of that month was "mission critical for our leadership," implying that the regulator's goodwill would be measured by meeting this deadline. Subsequently, a dispute arose over a €365,000 invoice for five months of work, which Tesla deemed an "extremely high cost," withholding payment until a detailed, hour-by-hour accounting was provided.
According to the documents, the RDW made several concessions following this. Tesla argued that its own test reports should suffice, leading the RDW to offer remote monitoring for part of the tests. Tesla also pushed back against a meeting concerning its over-the-air software updates, to which an RDW staffer responded that they did not wish to "dive too deep in technical details" and did not "question the quality and process for OTA’s." Furthermore, the RDW agreed to Tesla's demand for advance notice of specific tests and the names of safety drivers.
The RDW stated to Reuters that its engagement with manufacturers "does not compromise the independence or thoroughness of our assessment." However, significant portions of the emails were redacted, and the RDW has not published its own FSD test data, citing Tesla's trade secrets. This lack of transparency is notable, especially as the RDW is asking other EU countries to trust a review that remains largely undisclosed to the public.
Tesla also leveraged its own safety research, sharing an "evidence dashboard" and posting a study on X, claiming "lives saved." However, traffic-safety researchers reviewing the methodology for Reuters found the FSD sample size to be too small and the use of "surrogates" like honking or hard braking insufficient for comparing against actual crashes. Tesla's own fine print acknowledges that these comparisons cannot be interpreted as "causal estimates."
The pressure extended to consumers, with Elon Musk publicly encouraging customers to lobby regulators. This resulted in a flood of emails to authorities, often repeating the "life-saving" claims, prompting a Norwegian official to warn about "misled consumers."
These tactics appear to be yielding results; France, initially resistant, has now reported a "constructive exchange" with Tesla. Currently, eight EU countries have approved FSD, but major markets like Germany, Italy, and Spain remain uncommitted. The EU-wide vote is anticipated no earlier than December.
Source: Electrek
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