The European Commission has extended the session dedicated to Tesla‘s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) at the upcoming meeting of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles, according to an updated draft agenda for the committee’s 117th meeting.
The revised document confirms that the Dutch regulator RDW will present Tesla‘s FSD (Supervised) approval under Article 39 on May 5.
The presentation is listed as agenda item five — “Presentation by the Netherlands on an update on article 39” — and is now scheduled within a one-hour afternoon session starting at 13:30, following a change published on the European Commission’s website.
The original agenda had allocated a 20-minute slot within a three-hour morning session.
The extended session could allow member states to raise questions directly during the May meeting, rather than deferring them to the next scheduled TCMV session on June 30.
However, neither the European Commission nor the RDW has provided details on what the session will cover beyond the presentation listed in the agenda.
There is no mention of a vote, which could suggest that the May session will serve as an informational briefing for the 27 member states rather than a decision point.
The earliest realistic opportunity for a formal vote would be the June 30 meeting.
The timeline could extend further if member states raise questions that require additional documentation or review.
Tesla‘s public statements in the past few months target EU-wide availability “during the summer.”
Netherlands Approval
The RDW approved Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) on April 10, granting the software provisional type-approval under UN Regulation 171.
It has since begun rolling out to Dutch owners.
The Dutch authority has notified the Commission and submitted Tesla‘s Article 39 file for EU-wide consideration.
Article 39 of EU Regulation 2018/858 allows national authorities to grant provisional type-approval to vehicles using new technologies that do not fit existing rules, provided the manufacturer can demonstrate equivalent safety standards.
The approval covers only vehicles equipped with Tesla’s Hardware 4, excluding approximately four million older vehicles worldwide built with Hardware 3.
Spain on FSD Approval
Spain has joined the growing list of European countries responding to Tesla owner inquiries about the Dutch regulator’s decision to approve the software earlier this month — alongside France, Belgium, Italy, Norway, and Sweden.
Most authorities have said they are awaiting the outcome of the EU-level discussions before taking any step toward approving the software nationally.
Spain’s Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) sent a detailed reply to a Tesla owner on Monday.
The DGT clarified that, while it is not the agency responsible for vehicle type-approval in Spain — but rather for road safety, traffic regulations, and vehicle registration — it has “consistently supported the incorporation of safety and driving technologies in vehicles” as part of its Road Safety Strategy 2030.
The agency highlighted the country’s ES-AV Framework Programme (Evaluation of the Safety and Technology of Automated Vehicles), which it described as “one of the most advanced in our environment.”
The framework, which entered into force in July 2025, was designed to provide “an attractive and stable framework to facilitate testing and trials” of automated vehicles — an effort the DGT said it first initiated in 2015.
Under the ES-AV programme, Tesla is currently testing 30 vehicles equipped with FSD across Spain.
The fleet has logged nearly 80,000 kilometres since November 2025, with zero reported incidents, according to the DGT.
The authority said it considers the RDW’s decision “may provide new potential opportunities to improve mobility and benefit citizens, as a first step toward making automated vehicles a reality in the EU.”
On the legal path forward, the DGT confirmed that systems such as FSD — and those complying with UN Regulation No. 171 — “may be registered under the established requirements and conditions, and used legally on Spanish roads if and only if they have the appropriate type approval valid in Spain or in the EU.”
The agency added that “the driver will always remain responsible for ensuring road safety and maintaining control of the vehicle at all times.”
Italy
Italy’s Transport Ministry told a Tesla owner last week that it is not taking any decision on FSD until the EU-level discussions have concluded.
In an e-mail reply, the Ministry said that “provisional type-approval has national validity and it is at the discretion of each individual Member State to decide whether to accept such type-approval on its own territory.”
An executive at the government body added that “no decision has yet been taken at the European level as provided for in the month of May, when a joint analysis of the proposed solution will be carried out by the Commission and the Member States.”
This week, the Ministry has forwarded a community member’s request to fast-track the approval process to the transport department and Italy’s Motorizzazione Civile, the agency responsible for vehicle type-approval and registration.
Italy was one of the first European markets where Tesla offered FSD test rides with safety drivers in late 2025, alongside France and Germany.
The company has also published footage of FSD testing on the streets of Rome.
Norway and Sweden
Norway’s Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) published one of the most detailed responses to date, replying to an inquiry by a Tesla owner about what the Dutch approval means for the country.
The agency said it is “receiving many inquiries from the public” following the RDW decision and plans to “ask specific questions about how typical Nordic conditions have been taken into account.”
It will also inquire about how to prevent confusion between a driver-assistance system and a self-driving system, how incident reporting will be handled, and the system’s robustness against manipulation.
The administration referenced the precedent set by Ford‘s BlueCruise — previously approved through the same Article 39 mechanism — where Norway “had a special review for Ford Norway, which made some adjustments to its customer information” before accepting the system.
“We expect a similar process with Tesla,” the agency added.
As an EEA member, Norway does not have voting rights in the TCMV process but can submit questions.
On the question of whether existing vehicles can receive the software, Norway offered a clearer path than Sweden’s Transportstyrelsen.
The administration said that “based on an application and proper documentation from the manufacturer regarding the compatibility between the old and the new models,” it “can allow this in a supplementary decision.”
Sweden flagged a more restrictive interpretation — suggesting the Article 39 process covers only newly manufactured vehicles and that updating existing vehicles “is something that falls under national regulations in each EU country.”
The agency said analysis “is ongoing from a Swedish perspective” but that it is too early to comment on timelines.
Tesla was the best-selling automaker in Norway in the first quarter of 2026, registering 7,443 vehicles.
Norway remains a global leader in EV adoption, with over 98% of new monthly vehicle registrations being fully electric.
European Sales
The regulatory push comes as Tesla‘s European sales show signs of recovery.
Preliminary data shows that the company registered 79,539 vehicles across Europe in the first quarter, with March alone accounting for 53,545 units across 25 of 27 markets.
Tesla saw a fourfold increase in vehicle registrations both year over year and sequentially in Germany, Europe’s largest auto market.
March’s 9,252 units marked the company’s best monthly result in Europe’s largest auto market since December 2022.
Spain registered 2,477 Tesla vehicles in March, a 25% increase year over year.
First-quarter sales in the country rose 42.9% compared to the same period in 2025, according to data from the Spanish automakers association ANFAC.
The Elon Musk-led company reported delivering 358,023 vehicles globally in the first quarter.
