Tesla Assisted Driving: “Full Self-Driving” Is Gone in Europe. After 10 Years, an Honest Name

Tesla Assisted Driving is the new name of what Tesla sold for almost ten years as “Full Self-Driving”. As reported by Fred Lambert at Electrek, Tesla’s German website no longer mentions Full Self-Driving at all, and the old page now redirects to a new Tesla Assisted Driving page.

Three days ago I wrote that Tesla should show the data before Europe approves FSD. Now a regulator finally pushed back, and Tesla changed a name it defended for a decade almost overnight.

In this article: Why the name Tesla Assisted Driving · Ten years of misleading customers, in my opinion · Why only in Europe? · A deal on name and speed · 50% over the speed limit? Seriously? · Should Tesla pay customers back? · “7x safer” and “the future is autonomous” · “Danke schön” · Finally an honest name, but the speed worries me · Will the EU approve it in December? · FAQ

Why the name Tesla Assisted Driving

On October 6, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport said the name “FSD – Full Self-Driving Supervised” is misleading, because the system does not take over the full driving task. The driver must pay attention at all times and stays fully responsible. According to the ministry, Tesla itself offered the new name during talks with Transport Minister Steffen Bilger in September.

There was also a deal on speed. Germany says the system may go no more than 10% over the speed limit, and it will back Tesla in the EU approval process. Reuters reported that the version approved in the Netherlands allows up to 50% over the detected limit. In return, Bilger wants Tesla drivers to use the system across the EU as quickly as possible. Musk replied on X: “Danke schön.”

Ten years of misleading customers, in my opinion

Did “Full Self-Driving” mislead people? In my opinion, Tesla has done this from the very beginning. The cars are more or less good, but for marketing and slogans they write anything, just so it sells. Then one day you find out: you bought a car, you waited for an upgrade, and they disappointed you.

Changing the name after ten years is only because the EU is not America. Not everything Musk says passes here. And that is what I like the most: at least someone finally put him back with his feet on the ground, so he does not think the whole world belongs to him.

Look at the history. In October 2016, Tesla said every car it built had the hardware for full self-driving. At Autonomy Day in April 2019, Musk promised more than a million robotaxis on the road in 2020. Tesla has since admitted that cars sold as self-driving capable from 2016 to 2023 do not have the hardware to do it. Last December, a California judge called the name “unambiguously false and counterfactual”.

Why only in Europe?

In the US, Tesla still sells “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” for $99 a month. Why? In my opinion, because in America Musk has more power. In the EU, every country works separately, and when more countries and more people at least think a little about people and not only about money, someone tells Elon Musk: no, you are misleading customers, this will not pass here. In America he is at home, and he is used to everything he says passing. That is the whole point. And there he keeps selling, in my opinion, something that is not true, just advertising.

A deal on name and speed

To be honest, I thought Musk would push it through so that nothing changed, even in Europe. I am glad they at least fixed the speed and finally changed the name Full Self-Driving, which in my opinion was misleading, because the person driving still has to pay attention and carries full responsibility. Him saying until now that it is the best thing there is was, in my opinion, misleading for years.

50% over the speed limit? Seriously?

This is the part that shocks me most. In the EU, every driver knows that if you go even 5 km/h over the limit, you get a big fine sent to your home. So how is it possible that a car where, let us say, more than half of the driving is done by a robot was allowed up to 50% over the limit in the Netherlands? Is that fair to all the other drivers in Europe who pay huge amounts in fines for 5 km/h over?

Now it should be 10% in Germany, and even that is not final, it still has to be approved. It is still not OK toward other drivers. Then Elon comes with Tesla and changes everything. Who is he, and why do the same rules not apply to him? In my opinion, this shows how power and influence show up everywhere, in every country. I cannot explain it any other way, and I would like full transparency on how this was approved.

Should Tesla pay customers back?

One hundred percent. In my opinion, they must give the money back. For years people paid for this because someone told them the cars came ready for autonomous driving from the factory. In my opinion, Tesla had to know it would not work on those cars, but nobody came out and said: we are cancelling the payments, because your cars do not support it. Nothing.

It feels to me like taking money for air. In my opinion, nobody from Tesla has come out yet to say: for the years you believed our promises that your car was ready from the factory, you paid upfront and waited. And when it finally comes, many will just be told that their car does not support it. That, in my opinion, is the work of the best speculators, just so the company earns as much as possible at any cost, and Musk gets even richer.

“7x safer” and “the future is autonomous”

The rename is mostly find-and-replace. Tesla’s new German page is a translation of the US FSD page with the product name swapped. It still says the car will drive you “almost anywhere” under your supervision. It still claims the system is “7x safer” than human drivers, a figure Tesla’s own footnote says is measured against the estimated US average. And it still ends with “Die Zukunft ist autonom”, the future is autonomous.

In my opinion, “7x safer” is the biggest fairy tale lately, and it misleads everyone who buys a Tesla. I am not saying it is a bad car. But after so many crashes, to keep saying publicly how safe it is, I think only Tesla can do that. Where is the open data, so we can see reality? Or will we see it only with time, when crashes start happening all over Europe and they stay silent again? I wrote about that silence after the Tesla Cybercab crash and about Tesla Robotaxi at night. Everywhere on social media I only hear how great Musk and Tesla are, but nobody wants to talk about the other side.

“Danke schön”

Musk wrote “Danke schön”. Of course he did. In my opinion, he sees he will start earning more again. But why let him onto the EU market without opening the data? As I said, power and money make miracles, and we are too small to change it and ask companies to be fair to us and tell us the truth. They feed us PR campaigns and control our minds, and that is what almost every business is built on today.

Finally an honest name, but the speed worries me

Is Tesla Assisted Driving finally an honest name? In my opinion, yes. It is an assistant, not full driving. Why was this name not required from the start, when, in my opinion, customers were being misled for so many years? Thank God someone finally forced it. And it is the right name, because in a crash the driver is to blame, not some “full self-driving” autonomy.

What I am still waiting to see is the speed in the narrow streets of Europe. I do not want to be negative, but I can already see how many crashes there could be when an assistant is allowed to go over the limit everywhere, including in very narrow streets. That is not good.

Will the EU approve it in December?

Probably yes. We see what miracles happen around Tesla, even in the EU. But in my opinion, the EU should say: if you want to sell your assistant here, show us the data, and we will evaluate whether it is safe for our citizens.

And to the people who believed Tesla for ten years and waited for the upgrade that would finally make their car autonomous: I can only say they were let down, and in my opinion they paid for ten years for something they did not get. If Musk now comes out and says it was discovered at the last minute, that will be even less believable. You make the hardware and test it, and in ten years you did not notice? In my eyes, he is not the genius people say anymore. The facts show promises that were not true. For more, see Tesla Emergency Drive Away.

Featured photo: AuHaidhausen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla Assisted Driving: FAQ

What is Tesla Assisted Driving?

It is the new name in Europe for the system Tesla sold as “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”. The driver must supervise at all times.

Why did Tesla rename FSD in Europe?

Germany’s Transport Ministry called the old name misleading. Tesla offered the new name in talks, and Germany will back EU approval.

Is Tesla still selling Full Self-Driving in the US?

Yes. In the US it is still sold as “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” for $99 a month.

How fast can Tesla Assisted Driving go over the limit?

Germany says no more than 10% over the speed limit. The version approved in the Netherlands reportedly allowed up to 50%.

When will the EU vote on Tesla’s system?

December at the earliest. Approval needs 15 of 27 member states representing 65% of the EU population.

Sources: Electrek (Fred Lambert), Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport, Reuters, TechCrunch.

Our Take

After ten years, the name finally tells the truth: it is an assistant, not a self-driving car.

In my opinion, Tesla changed it only because Europe forced it. In the US, the old name still sells for $99 a month.

Pay back the people who paid for a promise. And show us the data before the EU votes.