France Starts On-Road Tests of Tesla FSD Ahead of EU Vote
France is testing two Tesla vehicles with FSD on public roads, a step toward a possible EU decision but not an authorization for autonomous driving in France.
France has started on-road testing of two Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) as officials assess whether the driver-assistance system can meet French and broader European requirements. The tests are a new step toward a possible European Union decision, but they do not authorize Tesla to offer an autonomous driving service in France.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on September 3 that Tesla provided two FSD-equipped cars for on-road testing after months of work on technical adaptations. France wants to assess the system on French roads and urban areas, and to verify data supplied by Tesla and the Netherlands. Reuters
FSD can steer, accelerate and brake, but it remains a driver-assistance system. The driver must stay attentive and ready to intervene; the French tests are not a finding that the system is fully self-driving. Reuters
The Netherlands granted provisional approval in April, followed by Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania. France had said in July that the safety trade-offs were not yet sufficient, citing concerns about speed-limit behavior and driver-attention warnings. Reuters
Tesla said this week that FSD recorded fewer collisions than manually driven Tesla vehicles across more than 100 million kilometers in five European countries. Reuters previously reported that experts questioned the comparison methodology, so France’s independent road testing is important context rather than a rubber stamp for Tesla’s figures. Reuters
The immediate change is regulatory testing, not a software rollout. Tesla owners in France should not assume that an FSD subscription, a compatible vehicle, or a software update makes the feature legally available for ordinary use. Availability remains dependent on approval, vehicle configuration, software, and local rules.
France is targeting test results for mid-to-late September. The EU Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles is due to meet on October 6, although a wider vote could occur at that meeting or later in the year. Until a decision is made, the scope and timing of any European rollout remain unconfirmed.
