EU vote on Tesla’s supervised self-driving system pushed back

By Marie Mannes

STOCKHOLM, Sept 25 (Reuters) – An expected European Union vote on allowing Tesla’s supervised Full Self-Driving system across the bloc has been delayed from October, with the next apparent opportunity for a decision not before December, according to an agenda published on the EU’s website.

• Dutch regulator RDW approved the system in April, with Belgium and a handful of other countries following suit

• RDW is also proposing that the software be approved across the bloc

• Tesla said on September 1 in a post on X that an EU-wide vote could potentially happen ​on October 6

• However, the agenda for an October 6 meeting of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), which brings together representatives of EU member states and the European Commission, lists only a “continuation of discussions” on the Dutch request for an Article 39 authorisation, with 25 minutes allocated to the discussion

• RDW told Reuters it would not speculate on the discussion, the vote or any potential outcome.

• Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. In response to a post on X about the delayed vote, CEO Elon Musk wrote: “sigh”

• The committee has already discussed Tesla’s request at two previous meetings. The next scheduled TCMV meeting after October is in December, making that the earliest apparent opportunity for a vote based on the current agenda

• An EU-wide rollout requires support by a “qualified majority” of 15 of the EU’s ‌27 member ⁠states, representing 65% of the bloc’s population

• Several EU countries, including Sweden, have expressed concerns about FSD exceeding speed limits, while countries that approved it say drivers ​remain responsible for complying with traffic laws

• The same committee approved Ford’s BlueCruise driver assistance system March 2024, with Germany as its sponsor

• Tesla has called FSD approval key to boosting sales in Europe, where it is seeking to regain market share amid growing competition from Chinese electric-vehicle makers

(Reporting by Marie Mannes. Editing by Inti Landauro and Mark Potter)