Tesla FSD gets Dutch OK
Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving ‘Supervised’ system received its first European approval in the Netherlands on April 10, and initial installations began within 24 hours under a constrained, owner‑supervised rollout. (Reports say Dutch approval was announced April 10, installations began less than a day later, and early Dutch subscribers must pass a mandatory safety quiz to access the system.) (teslarati.com) (teslanorth.com) (robohorizon.com)
Tesla can now activate Full Self-Driving Supervised for customers in the Netherlands after Dutch regulators approved the system on April 10. (rdw.nl) The Dutch vehicle authority, RDW, said it issued a type approval for Tesla’s driver-assistance system after more than 18 months of testing on a test track and on public roads. RDW said the approval has “provisional validity in the Netherlands.” (rdw.nl) Tesla says Full Self-Driving Supervised can handle route navigation, steering, lane changes and parking, but the company’s own product page says it still requires “active supervision” and does not make the car autonomous. RDW used even plainer language: a vehicle with the system “is not self-driving.” (tesla.com) (rdw.nl) That distinction is central to the Dutch approval. RDW said the driver remains responsible at all times, must stay engaged in traffic, and must be able to take over immediately even when hands do not have to stay on the wheel continuously. (rdw.nl) RDW said in November 2025 that new automotive technology without existing European rules can enter through an exemption process under European Union Regulation 2018/858. It also said an approval backed by a majority in the relevant European committee can become valid across the bloc, while a failed committee vote leaves it valid only in the Netherlands unless other states choose to adopt it. (rdw.nl) That helps explain why the Netherlands matters. RDW said on April 10 that the system can now be used in the Netherlands, with possible later admission in all European Union member states. (rdw.nl) The approval followed months of public signaling from both Tesla and the regulator. RDW said on March 20 that Tesla and RDW were in the final steps of the assessment after an intensive joint test program that began about 18 months earlier. (rdw.nl) Tesla had already been preparing Dutch customers for the launch. Tesla listed Full Self-Driving Supervised ride-along events in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Den Haag and other Dutch cities from February 16 through March 31. (tesla.com) The first customer rollout started fast. Tesla North and Not a Tesla App reported that installations began less than 24 hours after approval and that drivers must first watch a tutorial and pass a quiz in the new Self-Driving app or the car’s controls menu before using the feature. (teslanorth.com) (notateslaapp.com) Tesla’s global Full Self-Driving page now lists the Netherlands among the countries where Full Self-Driving Supervised is available. The next test is no longer whether Tesla can win a Dutch approval, but whether this supervised, driver-responsible version can clear the rest of Europe’s gatekeepers. (tesla.com)
