**Tesla Renames Full Self-Driving System to Assisted Driving in Europe**
Tesla announced that it has renamed its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system sold in Europe to “Assisted Driving” system, following concerns raised by the German regulatory authority that the name FSD was misleading.
In Europe, Tesla currently sells the FSD version as “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”, which is a supervised “full self-driving” system. Prior to the renaming, Germany had stated on Tuesday, October 6th, that Tesla had proposed to use a new name.
However, the software is still being sold in the United States under the original name, with Tesla owners able to subscribe for its use for $99 per month.
While renaming FSD, Tesla has been particularly pressuring European, especially Dutch automotive regulatory authorities to swiftly approve the company’s system. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has emphasized that autonomous driving technology is a key factor for the future growth of the car manufacturer.
Nevertheless, some European countries have questioned the terminology of “full self-driving”. For instance, in Sweden, the consumer protection agency had requested the Swedish Transport Administration to assess whether marketing under the name FSD could mislead buyers into thinking that the system enables fully autonomous driving.
Italian authorities have expressed similar concerns as well.
The German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) also stated in a release on Tuesday that the branding of Tesla’s FSD is “rather misleading”, adding: “This is not a system capable of taking over all driving tasks. More specifically, it is a driver assistance system that can support certain driving tasks such as acceleration, braking, steering. Drivers must always maintain focus.”
As of Friday, the FSD page on Tesla’s official website in countries like Slovakia, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands in Europe has been changed to “Tesla Assisted Driving”, while the Tesla US website still uses the name “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”.
Currently, eight EU countries allow the use of the system, with Slovakia expected to become the ninth in a few days.
The EU-wide approval vote for using the system, initially scheduled for October, has been postponed to at least December, with additional testing ongoing in countries like France.
(*This article is based on reporting from Reuters*)