Tesla Pushes for FSD Dominance in the Heart of Europe

Tesla’s European expansion for its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) Supervised software is moving into high gear. Following a provisional approval by the Netherlands' road safety group RDW last month Yahoo Autos, the company is now targeting Belgium. Flanders Transport Minister Annick De Ridder confirmed she has requested technical documentation from Tesla to evaluate a fast-track approval process for the region Reuters. A similar request has been filed in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region TradingView.

However, the path to a pan-European rollout faces stiff resistance from Nordic regulators. Hans Nordin of the Swedish Transport Agency noted that Tesla’s software has been observed exceeding legal speed limits, a critical compliance failure for autonomous systems ArenaEV. Meanwhile, Finnish transport official Jukka Juhola questioned the system's reliability on icy roads at speeds of 50 mph, expressing skepticism about whether the software is ready for severe winter weather ArenaEV. Regulators are also concerned that the "Full Self-Driving" branding may mislead consumers into neglecting their supervision duties ArenaEV.

WattEV Places Landmark 370-Unit Tesla Semi Order

In a massive vote of confidence for Tesla’s commercial vehicle division, WattEV has placed a record-breaking order for 370 Tesla Semi electric trucks Automotive World. This represents the largest single order for the Class 8 electric hauler in California to date. WattEV intends to use these vehicles to build a durable electric truck leasing business, betting that the transition to heavy-duty electrification will provide long-term growth opportunities Automotive World.

This order comes as Tesla’s overall European presence shows signs of a rebound. April registrations for Tesla vehicles more than doubled year-over-year in several key European markets Automotive World. Analysts suggest that surging fuel prices—driven by regional conflicts such as the Iran war—have accelerated the shift toward Tesla’s EVs more effectively than any specific marketing strategy Automotive World.

Robotaxi Rivalry Intensifies with Nuro and Lucid

While Tesla prepares for its own robotaxi event, the competition is securing regulatory wins. Nuro has received a modified permit from the California DMV to test driverless Lucid Gravity SUVs on public roads TechCrunch. These vehicles are destined for Uber’s premium robotaxi service, which is being powered by Nvidia's Drive AGX Thor computer Zamin.uz. Uber has deepened its commitment to the project with a $500 million investment in Lucid and an agreement to purchase 35,000 robotaxis Zamin.uz.

In Europe, a startup named Verne has already launched a commercial robotaxi service in Croatia using a fleet of 10 vehicles The Avery Journal-Times. Though small in scale compared to Tesla's ambitions, Verne is capitalizing on low pricing to drive consumer interest The Avery Journal-Times. Tesla's FSD Supervised remains the primary challenger to these specialized fleets as it attempts to scale via consumer-owned vehicles.

Market Watch

TSLA is currently trading up during the Wednesday session after closing yesterday at $394.34, a 1.28% increase from the prior day's close. Investor sentiment is being balanced by broader macroeconomic pressures and shifting analyst targets in the sector. Evercore ISI recently raised its price target for General Motors to $100 from $95 CNN, while GM shares closed yesterday at $76.15 CNN.

Additional market volatility stems from political rhetoric; Donald Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on European cars to 25%, a move that could force EU regulators to finalize trade deals quickly to avoid significant price hikes for imported vehicles Automotive World.