Tesla misleads European regulators with inflated FSD safety data

Tesla submitted safety statistics for its Full Self‑Driving (FSD) system to regulators in the Netherlands and Sweden that independent traffic‑safety researchers say are misleading. The company claimed the technology is up to ten times safer than human drivers, that FSD‑equipped vehicles travel more than seven times farther between crashes, and that the system could save 32,000 lives and prevent 1.9 million injuries. Researchers noted the methodology compares only air‑bag‑deployment crashes in FSD‑equipped cars with all U.S. crashes, pits new Teslas against an older average vehicle fleet, and rests on the unrealistic assumption that every U.S. vehicle would be replaced by a Tesla with FSD.

The Dutch road authority (RDW) approved FSD for use in the Netherlands in April 2026 after an 18‑month testing programme and is now seeking EU‑wide approval. RDW said it does not rely on marketing claims and conducts its own tests, analyses and audits. Sweden’s transport agency and the European Transport Safety Council echoed concerns, urging independent verification of Tesla’s data. Tesla policy manager Ivan Komusanac sent a presentation to Swedish regulators repeating the disputed claims.

Ten of eleven independent researchers described the data as “misleading marketing”. The controversy raises questions about the evidentiary basis for current and future European approvals of the autonomous‑driving system.