Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD, supervised version) software was approved for road use by Slovenian regulators on September 7, making Slovenia the sixth European country to approve the system, following the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Belgium, and Denmark.

The Netherlands was the first country in Europe to approve the FSD supervised version: The Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW) granted a "temporary type approval" for the FSD version 2026.3.6 on April 10, based on UN Regulation No. 171 (Driver Control Assistance Systems), with a validity of at least 36 months, recognizing it as an SAE Level 2 driving assistance system. This approval was based on 1.6 million kilometers of European road test data, 4,500 closed-course tests, and 13,000 in-vehicle assessments, meeting over 400 specific compliance requirements. Subsequently, Lithuania and Estonia approved it in May, and Denmark and Belgium followed in June, with Slovenia becoming the sixth country to do so.

According to Dutch regulatory guidelines, the FSD supervised version is not an autonomous driving system; it requires the driver to remain attentive and legally responsible for the vehicle's operation: An in-vehicle eye-tracking device continuously monitors the driver's attention state, triggering visual, auditory, and vibration alerts if distracted. If the driver continues to be unresponsive, the system will force the vehicle to slow down and enter a controlled parking state. Before first use, the owner must also complete mandatory tutorials and tests.

From the EU's approval mechanism perspective, individual member states currently approve "temporary type approvals". Major markets like Germany, France, and Italy have previously preferred to wait for a unified EU decision rather than pursue individual fast-track approvals. According to Article 39 of the EU Regulation No. 2018/858 and related mechanisms, achieving a unified release across the EU requires the "Motor Vehicle Technical Committee" (TCMV) to vote through a "double majority"—at least 15 of the 27 member states, representing 65% of the EU population, must vote in favor. The next realistic voting window is expected this fall (October or December); if the vote fails, the temporary approvals already issued will expire in six months. France is currently conducting road tests with two test vehicles but has not made a formal approval decision; Spain has about 30 Tesla vehicles participating in a testing project with its traffic management department (DGT), accumulating about 80,000 kilometers of test mileage since November 2025.

Commercially, Tesla offers two models for the FSD supervised version in the Dutch market: a monthly subscription of €99 or a one-time purchase option for €7,500. Owners of vehicles with "Enhanced Autopilot" can enjoy a discounted subscription of €49 per month. This move comes as Tesla faces pressure in the European market—Tesla's sales in Europe fell by 27.8% year-on-year in 2025, and BYD has surpassed Tesla in several European markets this year. The accelerated approval of the FSD supervised version is seen as a key measure for Tesla to differentiate its software capabilities to offset declining hardware sales pressure.

From an industry mechanism perspective, Tesla's strategy of "breaking through country by country, leading by example" essentially exploits the EU regulations that allow member states to recognize each other's "temporary type approvals", bypassing the lengthy wait for a unified EU vote, and aims to commercialize in more countries as early as possible to seize regulatory and user perception advantages. For Tesla, FSD subscription revenue is a high-margin software service income that can partially offset the pressure on hardware gross margins due to declining vehicle sales and price wars, making it a crucial support point in Tesla's current financial narrative of "software-defined vehicles". However, the potential reversal risk of the EU's unified vote, which could lead to "expiration in six months", means that Tesla's commercialization process in multiple countries is still fundamentally built on an unfinalized regulatory foundation.

Additional information: It should be noted that although FSD has been approved in six countries in Europe, it is still classified as a "Level 2" driving assistance system under current classifications, meaning that legally, the driver must be responsible for the vehicle's operation at all times and it is not truly autonomous driving. Countries such as the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, and Ireland have also been reported to be advancing their own independent approval or recognition processes, with specific timelines yet to be announced.

Source: Public Information