Tesla Pressured European Regulators to Ease FSD Review As Musk Claimed Delays 'Cost Lives': Reuters

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) repeatedly pressured European regulators to accelerate approval of its Full Self-Driving system, including pushing the Dutch regulator to reduce the scope and cost of its review, according to a Reuters investigation.After France raised safety concerns, CEO Elon Musk posted on X that “delaying the approval of FSD in France will cost lives.”Tesla Pressed Dutch RegulatorDutch regulator RDW approved FSD Supervised in April, giving Tesla a path toward wider EU approval.Reuters found Tesla repeatedly pushed RDW to make parts of its review cheaper and less intensive, and that the regulator agreed to some of those requests.In one example, Tesla disputed a €365,000 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 testing remotely and billed Tesla for fewer staff after it objected.The exchanges prompted outside experts interviewed by Reuters to question whether Tesla had too much influence over how its own safety review was conducted.Tesla did not respond to Reuters’ detailed questions.Tesla’s Safety Claims QuestionedTesla argued that FSD’s safety benefits were being “locked behind bureaucracy.”But seven traffic-safety researchers who reviewed an earlier European study Tesla shared with regulators told Reuters the study did not show that FSD prevents fatal crashes.Tesla has since released broader data covering more than 100 million kilometers of European driving, which it says shows FSD-equipped cars had a collision rate 4.1 times lower than manually driven Teslas.RDW says its approval relied on a wider review, including more than 3,000 hours of testing and over 1,000 test runs, and that the assessment was independent.Germany Adds MomentumGermany’s Transport Ministry said Monday that Minister Steffen Bilger wants timely EU-wide approval. Tesla also offered to rename the system “Tesla Assisted Driving” to make clear drivers must remain attentive.FSD Supervised is now approved in eight EU countries, while officials moved a wider vote to at least December.European approval would still leave Tesla short of fully autonomous driving. FSD Supervised requires drivers to remain ready to intervene.Kalshi traders put a 74% chance on Tesla offering a driverless robotaxi service in Nevada by year-end, a milestone that requires vehicles to operate without a human driver or safety monitor in the driver’s seat. About $42,000 has traded on the market.Kalshi and Benzinga have an existing data collaboration agreement.Tesla shares were down about 1.3% at $375 in early morning trading Wednesday.Image: ShutterstockRead Also: Nvidia Strength Is Masking ‘A Whole Lot of Pain’ in the Broader Market, David Rosenberg Says