Tesla FSD in Europe: Highway Approval Expected to Arrive in September

May 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

With European Tesla owners eagerly awaiting any news on FSD in Europe, we’ve seen Tesla tease FSD, and also point out exactly what the barrier has been - regulatory approval. Now, following the latest meeting of UNECE, new regulatory amendments are set to unlock “System-Initiated Maneuvers” (SIM) on highways across participating European nations.

This development, highlighted by Kees Roelandschap on X, notes that the latest documents from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) center on amendments to UNECE regulation 171. These changes were formally adopted into UNECE during the WP29 World Forum in March 2025.

Now, the amendment that will enable SIM will come into force on September 26, 2025. This six-month period after approval is standard UNECE procedure and allows objections from party states that would halt the implementation. Objections to UNECE amendments are genuinely rare, with 95% of amendments passing without objection once the World Forum adopts them.

What This Means for FSD in Europe

System-initiated maneuvers will allow your Tesla to perform actions autonomously, such as changing lanes on a highway, while the driver remains fully responsible for supervision. This is a substantial step up from current regulatory standards that only allow for suggested maneuvers or require explicit driver initiation for every automated maneuver.

This inches towards the more normal “hands-off, eyes-on” approach that Tesla has taken with FSD Supervised in North America and China. This regulatory change will help to provide the legal frameworks needed to deploy more advanced autonomy capabilities in Europe, at least matching what’s available on highways in North America.

Tesla is waiting for EU approval (sigh)
— gorklon rust (@elonmusk) May 12, 2025

Highways Only

The UNECE regulation will apply to all countries that adopt its standards, including the European Union, Japan, and South Korea - unless they specifically block it. This is a relatively positive development, but there are some hiccups.

This regulation only allows for system-initiated maneuvers on highways, not low-speed roadways. That means the city streets portion of FSD’s capabilities - including handling ‘Start FSD from Park` and reaching your destination’s parking spot - still won’t be available in Europe.

In addition, the UNECE framework has stricter requirements for driver monitoring and attentiveness - which means that some nags, including the dreaded wheel nag, are likely to remain a key portion of the experience.

Progress on autonomous driving regulations in Europe has been fraught with indecision and caution, which has been a source of frustration for many who are watching the everyday progress of FSD in North America, and more recently, in China. Even with individual countries recently approving testing of FSD on public roads, harmonized UNECE regulations are the key to wider, consistent deployment, which will allow everyday customers to use it as well.

While the path to full parity with North America may be long and involve even more regulatory machinations, the upcoming implementation of System-Initiated Maneuvers is a big step forward for Tesla owners in Europe. It is a key piece of the puzzle that will help Tesla bring some more features of FSD to Europe, assuming the September timeline holds.

Tesla Autonomously Delivers Its First Vehicle to Customer — And It’s More Impressive Than Expected [VIDEO]

June 28, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

In a world first, Tesla has successfully completed its first fully autonomous delivery of a new vehicle from Gigafactory Texas to a customer’s home. While Musk announced this was coming, some of the details make the achievement even more impressive.

The first fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from factory to a customer home across town, including highways, was just completed a day ahead of schedule!!

Congratulations to the @Tesla_AI teams, both software & AI chip design!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 27, 2025

Traveling on the Highway

A Tesla Model Y left the factory, navigating highways at speeds up to 72mph, a day ahead of Tesla’s previously announced schedule. Most critically, Elon also confirmed two key factors that make this achievement even more impressive than Tesla’s launch of the Robotaxi last week.

There were no Safety Monitors in the car, and no remote operators took control of the Model Y at any time, really making this an amazing achievement.

While the launch of the Robotaxi was an amazing step for Tesla, this one easily takes the cake.

No Safety Monitor, No Passengers, No Limits

The significance of this event lies in just how it differs from the current Robotaxi service operating in Austin.

First and most importantly, there was no Safety Monitor. Nobody was sitting up front, ready to tap one of the emergency stop buttons on the screen. The vehicle was empty, fresh from the factory. This is the unsupervised experience and future that we’ve been waiting for.

Max speed was 72 mph -- Ashok Elluswamy

Why There Was No Safety Monitor

However, there is an important distinction with this autonomous ride — that there were no passengers. This is the crucial regulatory distinction. By operating as a logistics trip rather than as a commercial ride-hailing service, Tesla was likely able to bypass many of the stringent rules governing passenger transport.

This freedom is what enabled the other key difference: operating with fewer restrictions. That included a 72mph top speed on the highway, which is well outside the geofenced Robotaxi Network that’s currently available in Austin.

Yup! Max speed was 72 mph 🏎️
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 27, 2025

Ahead of Schedule

This event wasn’t a surprise - Elon had previously stated that Tesla expects the first fully autonomous delivery to happen on June 28th. He even worked some flex time into that, saying the timing could potentially slip into early July.

It turns out that additional time wasn’t needed, as Tesla ended up delivering its first vehicle a day early. It seems that Tesla is pulling data quickly from its fleet of slightly modified Model Ys cruising the streets of Austin, which likely enabled the confidence behind giving this the green light.

Video of the Drive

Tesla shared a video of the entire drive, from the vehicle leaving Giga Texas to it arriving at the customer’s home. The entire ride took 30 minutes, crossing parking lots and going on the highway.

While there are some disadvantages to autonomous deliveries, they could lower the cost of a vehicle significantly.

World's first autonomous delivery of a car!

This Tesla drove itself from Gigafactory Texas to its new owner's home ~30min away — crossing parking lots, highways & the city to reach its new owner pic.twitter.com/WFSIaEU6Oq
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 28, 2025

Challenging Uber Eats and Others

This successful delivery is another fantastic use case for FSD that could be another entire business in and of itself for Tesla. The ability to autonomously move vehicles, potentially with cargo inside them, has massive implications for both Tesla’s factory-to-customer logistics, as well as challenging other services like Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes down the road.

Additionally, logistics-focused autonomy may be easier to scale than the Robotaxi network. It sidesteps many of the complex safety, liability, and customer-facing service challenges that come with carrying human passengers. This could be a faster and clearer path for regulatory approval.

Fork in the Road

But it's more than just a new business.

Back in 2022, Elon commissioned an art piece that now stands outside Giga Texas. It is, quite literally, A Fork in the Road. Part of Elon’s greater goal is to ensure we pass Fermi’s Great Filters, and that means ensuring we generate green energy, electrify and automate transportation, and move towards sustainable abundance.

Two years ago, I commissioned an art piece: A Fork in the Road.

Had to make sure that civilization took the path most likely to pass the Fermi Great Filters. pic.twitter.com/mYFzdAy6WF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2024

The point of the fork here is that Tesla’s first autonomous delivery isn’t just a publicity stunt. We’re finally here, at the fork in the road. We’ve hit it - true autonomous capabilities being demonstrated on public highways under a specific and challenging set of conditions. That’s a true Level 4 autonomous capability with no one in the car.

While Robotaxi is a fantastic step towards changing personal transport, this successful delivery proves that there are even more uses to FSD beyond what we’ve seen so far.

Tesla Issues Physical Recall for Some Model 3 & Model Y Vehicles Over Seat Fasteners

June 27, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has issued a new, voluntary safety recall for a small batch of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles due to an issue with improperly tightened fasteners in the first-row seats.

The recall impacts only about 48 vehicles and will require a Tesla service visit to resolve.

Improperly Tightened Fasteners

According to the recall notice, the issue stems from the first-row seating that may have been manufactured with improperly torqued fasteners that attach the seat back to the seat bottom. In some cases, the fasteners may be loose or missing, which could cause a rattle or the seat to detach.

This is a critical safety issue, as a seat back that is not properly anchored could detach, leaving the driver or passenger unsupported and increasing the risk of an accident.

According to Tesla’s investigation, this issue originated from a production change made for vehicles manufactured between April 3rd and May 7th of 2025. However, not all vehicles built within that date are impacted by the recall. The issue impacts 30 2026 Model Ys and 18 2025 Model 3s, across all variants, including RWD, AWD, and Performance (for the Model 3).

Thankfully, there have been no incidents related to this issue to date.

The Fix

Since this is a physical recall, Tesla will have to inspect impacted vehicles and replace and properly retorque the seat fasteners as needed, free of charge.

Owners of vehicles who have been impacted have already been contacted under the voluntary recall, and most vehicles should have been repaired by the time this notice is formally issued.

You can also check if your VIN is impacted by a recall using Tesla’s Recall Tool.

Tesla has noted the repair should take approximately one hour of work at a Service Center, and up to two hours if a Mobile Ranger addresses the recall.