Tesla FSD, actually unleashing that autonomous tech’s full capabilities is proving extremely difficult outside of North America. Despite recent tweaks, outdated regulations are still hamstringing Tesla’s ability to deploy its most cutting-edge FSD V12 features in regions like Europe.
Rohan Patel, a senior director director of public policy at Tesla, laid out the roadblocks in a series of X tweets. He said Tesla “would love to” bring its latest FSD 12 version with supervised autonomous driving to markets like Europe. But legacy UN regulations simply “don’t allow for these system initiated maneuvers which are the hallmark of the Supervised FSD v12 system.”
While Rohan Patel noted that “most [regulators] agree with us” on modernizing the rules, he described the process for enacting new United Nations vehicle standards as painfully sluggish. Unanimous voting is required across all member states for regulatory reforms – leading to bureaucratic gridlock.
As a result, Tesla expects to roll out a degraded FSD v11 experience in Europe later this year that lacks key autonomous capabilities found in North America. “We will see a better FSD system towards the end of the year,” Patel said, “but more needs to change at the UN in order to allow for the full safety benefits of FSD Supervised v12.”
So what’s behind FSD v12 massive jump in self-driving smarts? Tesla finally leveraging the full power of its custom AI training supercomputer and a shift to an end-to-end neural network model for autonomous driving.
Patel implored regulators to embrace an updated “mindset” and show real “leadership” by prioritizing advanced transportation technologies. Otherwise, “the most exciting technology advancements…will take place outside of the great nations that adhere to these UNECE standards.”
The Tesla exec says the company could use grassroots backing from owners, politicians and technology leaders as it tries to break the regulatory logjam around autonomous driving policies.
“We need more support from a wider set of leaders,” Patel stated, framing Tesla’s FSD struggles as “far more than a road transportation issue” encompassing economic development and AI ethics.
If progress remains stalled, Tesla could find itself boxed out of major markets with its flagship Autopilot software – losing ground to more aggressive global rivals. The race to shape autonomous driving regulations has begun in earnest.