Tesla has officially changed the name of its advanced driver-assistance system from "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" to "Tesla Assisted Driving" (TAD) across Europe. This rebranding effort aims to appease regulators and pave the way for the system's approval on public roads.
The change was prompted by concerns from German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger, who found the term "FSD" potentially misleading. Following discussions with Tesla last month, Bilger expressed support for faster European approval of the feature. The European Union is expected to vote on its widespread approval by the end of the year. Tesla began implementing the new "Tesla Assisted Driving" language on its European sales website this past Friday.
Tesla has historically defended its naming conventions, even in legal battles. In California, the Department of Motor Vehicles previously ruled that the terms "Full Self-Driving" and "Autopilot" were misleading and violated state law. After facing threats of license suspension, Tesla ceased using "Autopilot" and continued appending "(Supervised)" to its FSD technology name.
While Tesla drivers report significant improvements and occasional hands-off trips with FSD, the system has faced considerable scrutiny. U.S. federal authorities launched an investigation following multiple incidents where FSD allegedly failed to respond due to visibility issues and did not adequately warn drivers. A recall of an older FSD version was also issued after it was found to disregard certain traffic laws.
The push for global approval of its driver-assistance technology is a key strategy for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, potentially unlocking substantial software-based revenue. The company currently charges a $99 monthly subscription for FSD (Supervised) in the U.S. Australia and New Zealand approved the technology last year, and the Netherlands became the first European nation to grant provisional permission earlier this spring. A version was also released to Chinese customers in May.
Recent reports suggest Tesla may have presented misleading safety data to European regulators during its lobbying efforts, mirroring accusations of deceptive statistics used in the U.S.
