Tesla pushed Dutch regulator to scale back its Full Self-Driving review, Reuters reports
What's the deal? A Reuters investigation published on 7 October, based on emails obtained from the Dutch vehicle regulator RDW, reports that Tesla repeatedly pressed RDW to reduce the scope, cost and timing of its safety review of FSD (Supervised). RDW approved the system in April 2026, and that approval is the basis for Tesla's push for an EU-wide green light.
What the emails reportedly show: Tesla disputed a 365,000 euro bill for five months of regulatory work. A week later an RDW employee invited the company to suggest how the regulator could "adjust or reduce" the effort required. RDW also offered to monitor some tests remotely and billed for fewer staff after Tesla objected. Outside experts quoted by Reuters question whether Tesla had too much influence over how its own review was run.
RDW's response: The regulator says its engagement with manufacturers "does not compromise the independence or thoroughness" of its assessment, which it says included more than 3,000 hours of testing and over 1,000 test runs. It has not published its test data, citing Tesla's trade secrets.
The wider campaign: After France's transport minister said in July that France could not support EU-wide expansion, Elon Musk posted on X that delaying approval "will cost lives", and Tesla supporters then flooded regulators' accounts. Eight EU countries have now approved FSD nationally. EU-wide approval needs backing from 15 of 27 member states representing 65% of the EU population; a vote is not expected before December. Germany, Italy and Spain have not signed on. FSD (Supervised) still requires the driver to be ready to intervene, and Tesla has offered to rename it "Tesla Assisted Driving".
Why it matters: Europe is the next big test of whether driver-assistance software can be approved at continental scale, and of how much distance regulators keep from the company they are reviewing. The reporting concerns Tesla's conduct towards the regulator; no authority has found any wrongdoing.
Sources: Reuters investigation (7 October 2026); Electrek summary for the EU vote arithmetic and country count.
Image credit: Tesla via Electrek
