Tesla renames ‘Full Self-Driving’ to ‘Assisted Driving’ in Europe as it chases clearance for software

Tesla has renamed its Full Self-Driving feature to Tesla Assisted Driving on its European websites, aligning the terminology with regulators who found the previous name misleading. This change comes as CEO Elon Musk pushes for the software to receive EU-wide clearance. Germany initially proposed the new name, and Tesla has since updated its FSD page for Slovakia to reflect the change, with similar adjustments on other European sites such as Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the US site still lists it as Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

A recent Reuters report revealed that Tesla employed a lobbying effort to gain approval for the FSD in Europe, urging owners and supporters to engage with national regulators for more expedient approvals. In September, a Norwegian Tesla owner inquired about whether the new name addressed concerns over the misleading connotations of the previous label, as documented by Reuters through freedom-of-information requests.

Regulators across various EU countries have consistently flagged the original name as deceptive, arguing that the system necessitates constant oversight and that drivers remain legally accountable. For instance, Swedish consumer protection authorities had previously urged the Swedish Transport Agency to evaluate if the marketing of FSD could mislead consumers into believing the system offers full autonomy.

In Italy, government correspondence highlighted the potential for the name Full Self-Driving and Tesla's promotional materials to suggest the vehicle is equipped with unsupervised automatic driving functions akin to higher levels of automation, specifically SAE Level 3, based on internal communications obtained by Reuters.

Currently, eight EU nations permit the system, with Slovakia anticipated to join ranks as the ninth within days. The EU-wide vote to formalize the approval timeline has been postponed from October to at least December, with countries like France conducting supplementary tests to finalize their stance.