Full Self-Driving is 'misleading' says Germany's Ministry of Transport

• Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport is pushing for FSD approval
• Regulators are concerned about the controversial name
• The technology could be labelled “Tesla Assisted Driving” instead

A recent statement from Germany’s Ministry of Transport reports that the country's Transport Minister, Steffen Bilger, is pushing to legalize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology, aiming to bring the benefits of “innovative driver assistance systems” to Europe as quickly as possible.

According to the post, the ministry has agreed to allow the technology to travel at speeds of 10% over the local limits in order to smooth traffic flow — a point that has proven a cause for concern among other European countries.

“Minor speeding can contribute to a more even and fluid traffic, depending on the situation,” the statement reads.

Eight European countries have currently given the green light to Tesla’s controversial autonomous driving system, with a wider European Union rollout expected in 2027.

While Germany believes the driver assistance system shows a high level of performance, especially in urban traffic, ministers aren’t convinced about the naming. They say FSD (Full Self-Driving Supervised) is “somewhat misleading”.

The statement goes on to add that the Ministry of Transport feels that FSD is not a system that takes over the complete driving task.

“It is a driver assistance system that can support certain driving tasks such as accelerating, braking and steering. However, the driver must remain attentive at all times,” it adds.

As a result, the Ministry says Tesla has offered to rename the system to "Tesla Assisted Driving” in Germany. A move that could be rolled out to further markets in the future.

Analysis: Tesla’s naming is misleading

(Image credit: Tesla)

Controversy has surrounded Tesla’s Full Self-Driving for many years, with numerous court cases still active in the US involving accidents and Tesla’s driver assistance systems.

While certain elements of the technology have been called into question, such as Tesla’s avoidance of LiDAR in pursuit of an advanced camera-only system, it has largely been praised for its ability to take care of driving duties, potentially reducing driver fatigue.

But as Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport states, the driver must remain attentive at all times. This is often where confusion has occurred.

Tesla’s website is clear to point out that the current features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous, but messaging from the company has been more ambiguous, with suggestions that the technology would soon become "fully autonomous" via over-the-air updates.

The Tesla North America X account even reposted a video (see above) showing one owner promoting the self-driving technology in his Cybertruck, as it helped with his "eyes getting bad."

In many countries, deteriorating eyesight in itself is enough to see a driving license revoked.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US has various investigations underway that are probing safety concerns surrounding FSD, but perhaps a simple name change, like the one Germany is proposing, could help clear up customer confusion and prevent over-reliance on the technology.