France won't approve Tesla's FSD yet, citing speeding and attention-monitoring gaps
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said Tesla's FSD (Supervised) won't be approved "as it currently stands" — citing speed-matching behavior that can exceed posted limits by up to 50% without driver command, plus insufficient driver-attention monitoring in complex situations like roundabouts and lane changes. It's the first EU member state to formalize specific objections at the cabinet level while the bloc's Article 39 joint review continues.
First, FSD matches surrounding traffic speed in a way that can exceed the posted limit by up to 50% without an explicit driver command — for example, hitting 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. Second, the current driver-monitoring setup doesn't guarantee sufficient attention during complex urban situations such as roundabouts and lane changes.
The announcement makes France the first major European country to formalize specific objections to FSD at the cabinet level, after other EU countries had largely deferred to the European Commission's Article 39 joint review process. It stops short of an outright rejection, though — France said it will continue technical discussions with Tesla, the Netherlands, and other European countries.
Tesla has been expanding FSD ride-alongs across Europe as a signal it's getting closer to regulatory approval, but France's formal objection suggests EU-wide sign-off could still take longer. For a company leaning on Robotaxi and FSD expansion as core growth drivers, a delayed European rollout is a variable worth watching.
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