In the last year, Tesla has amped up its efforts on Full Self-Driving (FSD), expanding its rollout to markets outside of North America, including Australia and New Zealand.
Late last year, the brand even attempted to target one of its most challenging markets with FSD Supervised, delivering it in parts of Europe, as a passenger test ride.
Now, the company has announced it is a matter of weeks away from approval in key European market, starting with the Netherlands.
On its official European X account, the company said: “Together with RDW, we have officially completed the final vehicle testing phase for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and have submitted all documentation required for the UN R-171 approval + Article 39 exemptions.”
It also outlined key activities the company has undertaken over the last 18 months to reach this stage of the approval process. These included:
1,600,000+ km of FSD (Supervised) testing on EU roads
13,000+ customer sales ride-alongs
4,500+ track test scenario executions
Thousands of pages of written documentation for 400+ compliance requirements
Dozens of research studies into safety performance/results
Together with RDW, we have officially completed the final vehicle testing phase for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and have submitted all documentation required for the UN R-171 approval + Article 39 exemptions. The RDW team is now reviewing the documentation and test results…
— Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa (@teslaeurope) March 20, 2026
Following this update, many owners who have waited years for this announcement responded with excitement.
One said: “We have been waiting for so long! Thank you Tesla and RDW team , our road will be safer, and this tech will save thousands of lives”.
Another referenced the test rides the company has been offering in Europe and said: “Awesome news! 👏🏻 I just had my FSD Ride-Along this week in the Netherlands, and now I fully understand why everyone in the US is hyping it. Once you experience it, you’ll want it. It really feels like the future.”
Tesla started these rides on the tail end of 2025 and the program has seen over 13,000 rides. At the time of the launch, the company enticed interested owners and supporters of the autonomous vehicle tech in the continent by saying: “Ride along in the passenger seat to experience how it handles real-world traffic & the most stressful parts of daily driving, making the roads safer for all”.
Image: Tesla Australia and New Zealand
Europe has been one of the few major markets that has not yet seen the rollout of Tesla’s software, although plenty of testing has certainly been going on there.
In April 2025, Tesla shared a two-minute video of the FSD Supervised software, testing in Europe, with the caption saying: “FSD Supervised in Europe, pending regulatory approval”.
In July, Tesla’s supervised FSD was showcased testing in the UK, crossing multiple London landmarks.
In the video shared of the drive in London, a Model 3 with the FSD Supervised software autonomously drove through traffic, stopped for pedestrians, and completed a journey around the city’s busy streets.
With the latest news from Tesla in Europe, it’s likely that the company is working through the regulatory approval process not only in the Netherlands but also across multiple countries, which are likely to follow in the near future.
Given the level of excitement for this software, it’s expected to have a strong uptake in Europe, which would also pave the path for large amounts of subscription revenue from the software on the continent.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
