The German Federal Ministry of Transportation announced that it had reached an agreement with Tesla on the prompt approval of the Tesla Full Self-Driving system and would also allow a driver monitoring the vehicle to manually adjust the speed up to 10% above the speed limit. However, the Federal Ministry is requiring a name change so as not to mislead owners into believing that it is a Level 4 autonomous driving system. Tesla has proposed the name “Tesla Assisted Driving.”
Federal Minister of Transportation Steffen Bilger commented:
Discussions are currently underway at the European level regarding the approval of Tesla’s driver-assistance system. There are many technical issues to be clarified, as well as questions of liability. I discussed this with Tesla in September. We quickly reached a common understanding and arrived at a constructive agreement. On this basis, I will now work to ensure that the system is approved throughout Europe as soon as possible. My goal is for Tesla drivers to be able to enjoy the benefits of assisted driving throughout the EU as soon as possible.
In Europe, seven countries have already granted Tesla’s FSD special approval, and this week, EU-wide consultations on the approval of FSD are taking place. Germany is overseeing the approval process in close coordination with the Federal Motor Transport Authority, the Dutch type-approval authority, and Tesla.
Germany is thus sending a signal to all other European countries to approve FSD, even though the bulk of the groundwork was done by the Dutch, who intensively tested Tesla’s FSD for 18 months before approving it. Germany could also benefit as a business location, as the vehicles produced at the Tesla factory in Berlin-Grünheide are likely to experience a sales boom thanks to the approval of this extremely capable driver-assistance system. At the same time, this is forcing other European automakers to accelerate their efforts in this area or to team up with partners.
This article was also published in German.
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