Tesla in Talks With Irish Government on FSD Supervised Approval

Tesla is in talks with the Irish government over approval for its FSD Supervised software. The Department of Transport said that Tesla are currently engaging with the Irish authorities including the Irish approval body, the NSAI, regarding their FSD system.

If the technology is approved at EU level it would then be possible for it to be allowed in Ireland. The company is hoping to roll out the software in the EU as early as this summer. Tesla has said FSD approval in Europe is important to increasing sales in the region, which fell 27 percent last year.

This week in Brussels, Dutch authorities were presenting their case to other European regulators. The Netherlands became the first EU nation to grant preliminary approval for the technology. This followed 18 months of extensive research and testing on public roads.

The Dutch road authority RDW stressed that Tesla’s full self-driving software is not self-driving but a driver-assistance system.

Driver-assistance systems are classified as Level 2 autonomous driving. This means the system can control braking, acceleration and steering, but the driver must keep their eyes on the road at all times and remains fully responsible. Tesla says FSD will drive almost anywhere with active supervision requiring minimal intervention but does not make the car self-driving.

Tesla’s FSD Supervised is considered Level 2+, with the ability to remove hands from the steering wheel. Professor Sergio Savaresi, head of the Department of Electronics at the Polytechnic University of Milan, said in a Level 2 vehicle the driver must be able to react and take control instantaneously.

He noted that reaction time is a grey area and a subject of ongoing debate. A more advanced Level 3 version is already commercially available in Europe. Mercedes-Benz's Drive Pilot software, launched in 2023, is permitted on limited German autobahns at speeds up to 95 km/h.

Level 3 allows the driver to take their eyes off the road.

Transport is continuing negotiations on both national and EU levels but said at this stage it is not possible to provide timelines for any EU approval. A national strategy for connected and autonomous vehicles has been under development by the Department of Transport since 2018.

The latest amendment to the Road Traffic and Roads Act in March paved the way for Level 2 software to be lawfully used in Ireland. No such systems are currently in operation on public roads in Ireland. Paddy Comyn, the Head of Automotive Content at Done Deal, said there are cars on sale in Ireland that would have the capability but manufacturers have not fitted it based on existing legislation.

On Tesla's website the enhanced autopilot feature can be purchased for €3,800 and will become subscription-only from May 21.

Regulators from Sweden, Norway and Finland have raised concerns about the software citing its tendency to speed and questioning its performance on icy roads. Last year the US traffic safety authority launched an investigation into 2.9 million Tesla cars over reports of crashes involving FSD.

Some complaints said the software failed to detect parked vehicles or gave users too little reaction time to avoid a crash. Professor Savaresi said in practice users could use Tesla’s FSD at Level 3 where most accidents have occurred because users became overconfident.

Tesla argues that FSD Supervised improves US road safety by over 80 percent reducing the likelihood of collisions caused by human error. The company’s decision to rely solely on cameras rather than combining different sensors has also been questioned by researchers including Dr Martin Glavin at the University of Galway.

Researchers called for more government oversight over implementation of the software. Dr Glavin said a good autonomous system is better than a distracted or tired driver. Professor Savaresi is focusing research on Level 4 systems that can drive independently without a driver.