Tesla FSD testing begins in France ahead of EU approval vote

Investing.com -- France started testing Tesla's Full Self Driving system on two vehicles to evaluate the advanced driver assistance technology, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said Tuesday.

The Netherlands road authority RDW granted provisional approval for Tesla's FSD system on Dutch roads in April. Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania followed with similar provisional approvals ahead of a potential bloc-wide vote that could occur as early as next month.

FSD operates as a driver assistance system that can accelerate, brake and steer a vehicle while requiring the human driver to remain ready to intervene. The technology does not create a fully autonomous vehicle.

Tabarot said in July that safety considerations regarding speed limitation and driver attention warnings were not adequate to justify authorization at that time.

The minister posted on X late Tuesday that he had "a constructive exchange" with Elon Musk about the technology after working with Tesla for several months on technical modifications needed for France to support approval.

"With the provision of two vehicles equipped with FSD by Tesla, we are now entering a new phase: that of on-road testing," Tabarot said.

France plans to conduct independent tests to verify data from the Netherlands and Tesla, and to evaluate the system on French roads, according to a transport ministry source. The country aims to complete testing by mid to late September to prepare for a bloc vote in coming months.

A vote could occur next month or early December, the source said, adding that Tesla is expected to address French concerns, which could lead to European approval of the technology.

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