According to Business Insider, Tesla announced on X that it had secured Netherlands National approval for its Full Self-Driving technology from Dutch regulator RDW for February 2026, after pushing for over a year to roll out FSD in Europe. The company immediately called on fans to contact RDW and “express your excitement & thank them for making this happen as soon as possible.” Just two days later, RDW responded with a blog post clarifying that while they’ve drawn up a schedule for Tesla to meet requirements by February 2026, approval is not guaranteed and “whether the schedule will be met remains to be seen.” Internal emails reveal Tesla employees have been impatient with RDW’s testing pace, with one writing “keep in mind that this is mission critical for our leadership.” The regulatory setback comes as European Tesla sales dropped 48.5% year-over-year in October amid rising competition from Chinese automakers like BYD.
European Reality Check
Here’s the thing about European regulators – they don’t respond well to public pressure campaigns. RDW’s response was basically a masterclass in bureaucratic shade. They not only clarified that February 2026 is a target, not a guarantee, but they specifically asked people to stop contacting them about it. That’s a pretty clear message: “We’ll move at our pace, thank you very much.”
And honestly, can you blame them? European auto safety standards are notoriously strict, and Tesla‘s approach of “release now, fix later” doesn’t fly there. Musk has called EU regulation a “layer cake of bureaucracy,” but when you’re dealing with public safety on crowded European streets, maybe a little caution is warranted. The company’s public celebration before actually having approval in hand seems… premature at best.
Competitive Pressure Cooker
Now let’s talk about why Tesla is so desperate to get FSD into Europe. Their sales there are collapsing – down nearly 50% year-over-year according to European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association data. Chinese competitors like BYD are eating their lunch with more affordable EVs that don’t come with the regulatory baggage of Tesla’s autonomous driving promises.
FSD is Tesla’s key differentiator, their secret sauce. Without it, they’re just another EV maker in a market filling up with compelling alternatives. But getting advanced automotive technology approved in Europe requires robust testing and validation – exactly the kind of industrial computing infrastructure that companies rely on specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, to provide for demanding manufacturing and testing environments.
What’s Next for FSD
So where does this leave Tesla? Stuck between a rock and a hard place. They need FSD in Europe to stay competitive, but they’re dealing with regulators who won’t be rushed. The RDW’s response makes it clear that fan campaigns won’t speed things up – if anything, they might slow the process down by distracting customer service.
Basically, Tesla needs to put their head down and actually meet the technical requirements instead of trying to court public opinion. European regulators care about data, safety records, and compliance – not social media excitement. If Tesla can deliver what RDW needs by February 2026, great. If not? Well, Chinese competitors will be happy to fill the gap with their own increasingly sophisticated driver assistance systems.
