Tesla FSD could meet EU rules, France says

Tesla's semi-autonomous driving system could be adapted to meet EU and international norms, initial tests suggest, French officials said Thursday.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot indicated Wednesday that road testing of Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised system was under way in France after the company provided two vehicles.

“As of today, no sticking point has been identified that cannot be overcome,” a French ministry official said Thursday. The official added that there appeared to be no major obstacles to adapting the system to European driving by adjusting its programming.

The system uses an AI-enabled computer fed by information from the car's cameras to drive the vehicle, but the driver has sole legal responsibility and must constantly watch the road and be ready to take over.

Several million Tesla cars already use the system in the United States and in some other countries that have approved the technology, including Australia, Canada and South Korea. Some European countries have given conditional approval, including the Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium, Lithuania and Denmark.

Those approvals are based on Tesla receiving an exemption to EU rules. France has said it supports semi-autonomous driving technology but wants Tesla to adapt the system to EU regulations.

One issue cited is that EU regulations say semi-autonomous vehicles should not exceed the speed limit, while data supplied by Tesla says its vehicles can do so in some cases.