In Europe, Tesla’s driver-assistance system has a new name. On Tesla’s websites in Germany and many other European countries, “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” is now “Tesla Assisted Driving.” In North America, including Canada, the FSD (Supervised) name is unchanged.
Why the rename?
electrive reports that the change follows talks between Tesla and the German federal government. German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger had called the old name “misleading.” TechRepublic reports that Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport said the system “is not a system that takes over the entire driving task.” The independent tracker tad-tracker.eu says the agreement also includes a maximum 10% speed tolerance above detected limits and a rule that the driver remains 100% responsible. It also says the new name has been in use since October 9.
Where approval stands
As of October 10, eight of the EU’s 27 countries had approved the system nationally: the Netherlands (first, in April), Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, Slovenia, Czechia and Croatia. That’s according to tad-tracker.eu, and electrive also reports an announcement from Slovakia. Germany hasn’t approved it nationally yet. Its Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) is still reviewing it, but the government now supports EU-wide approval.
Tesla is pushing for one vote in the EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) rather than going country by country. That vote has been postponed several times and is now expected in December at the earliest. TechRepublic reports that France and Sweden have raised concerns about speeding. EU-wide approval needs 15 of 27 member states representing 65% of the EU population.
What it means for Canadians
Nothing changes in how the system works here, and the rebrand applies only to Europe. Still, it’s worth following. Regulators around the world are paying closer attention to how driver-assistance systems are named and marketed, and European limits like the proposed 10% speed tolerance show how differently the same software can be set up from one market to another. A rename doesn’t change the basics in any market: the driver is responsible and has to stay attentive.
Do you think “Tesla Assisted Driving” is a more honest name? Should Tesla use it in Canada too?