A Swedish transport authority is recommending a vote against the Europe-wide rollout of Tesla’s (TSLA.O), opens new tab supervised self-driving software, unless the U.S. EV maker disables its ability to exceed legal speed limits, a regulatory letter shows.
In a previously unreported letter dated April 30, obtained through a freedom of information request, the Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) said Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature should not be approved for European Union roads unless its ability to ignore speed limits is removed.
The letter was sent to the EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), which is due to meet again on June 30 to discuss the matter, ahead of a vote at a later date on whether to roll out the technology across the bloc.
Tesla has already secured approval in some European countries for FSD, which allows vehicles to steer themselves on city streets and highways under human supervision. EU-wide approval would support Tesla’s sales in the region, where it faces growing competition from Chinese EV makers.
Tesla, led by CEO Elon Musk, did not respond to requests for comment. Its user manual says drivers should not rely solely on the system for speed limits and must “drive at a safe speed based on traffic and road conditions”.
FSD allows users to set a “Speed Offset”, letting the vehicle exceed posted limits by a driver-defined margin.
In its letter, the TRV said that “allowing automated systems to systematically exceed legal speed limits … risks undermining both the legal framework and the expected safety benefits of vehicle automation”.
It called for the feature to be removed. “Failing this, the Swedish Transport Administration recommends that TCMV vote against the proposed introduction,” it said.
