Currently: Tesla plans to launch an autonomous shuttle service in Grünheide this year, according to reports.
Image: teslamag.de (Demo drive with FSD Supervised in Germany)
Recently, Tesla made concessions: For years, the company referred to its assistance system as FSD (short for Full Self-Driving), but to meet EU regulations, it was renamed to the more modest “Tesla Assisted Driving” in early October. In the U.S., it remained FSD, though Tesla added “supervised” to it in 2024. Even there, only Model Y and Cybercab vehicles operate as truly autonomous robotaxis in the city of Austin so far. That makes the recent report that Tesla plans to launch an autonomous shuttle service at its German factory site this year all the more surprising.
Tesla Shuttle for a Local Elementary School
The source for this is a (paid) report by the Märkische Oderzeitung (MOZ) from this Saturday. The headline reads “Community plans autonomous shuttles still in 2026,” with “Tesla in Grünheide” as the subheading above it. Citing the mayor of Grünheide as the source for the claim that “self-driving Tesla shuttles will launch still in 2026,” as stated in the introduction, the local newspaper from the area reports that he informed the community council last week about the new deal agreed upon with Tesla.
Tesla’s German gigafactory is located in the Grünheide area and has long been the largest employer in the region as well as throughout Brandenburg. According to MOZ, however, it is not Tesla’s employees who will benefit from the shuttle service, but rather school staff and children in the community: The local elementary school has opened a branch this year, and the service using autonomous Tesla shuttles is intended to transport them between the two locations over a distance of about eight kilometers in one go, according to the newspaper.
Safety drivers are required for the service
The report apparently assumes that Tesla already has autonomous driving under control and is allowed to use it in Greenheide — the only pending issue is the completion of an overpass between the two elementary schools, expected by November. It is merely mentioned in passing that “Tesla safety drivers are seated in the shuttles and can intervene if needed.”
This no longer sounds like an autonomous school shuttle but rather like the usual use of FSD Supervised or, in Europe, Tesla Assisted Driving — a system that takes over all driving tasks but must always be monitored by a person in the driver’s seat. According to the report, the planned service draws inspiration from Eifel, where self-driving Teslas are already transporting students and seniors.
Tesla Assisted Driving instead of Autonomy
However, the newspaper itself states that this system will be used there and in Grünheide going forward — a system that was recently renamed from “Full Self-Driving (supervised)” to TAD in Europe. This seems to contradict the claims about autonomy in the rest of the article, but it apparently went unnoticed.
The Vulkaneifel district mentioned in the report is more specific on this matter: While a statement about the launch of a shuttle service using two Model Y vehicles this June refers to it as “a forward-thinking pilot project in the field of autonomous driving,” both the headline and the text later mention that it involves Tesla drives with FSD Supervised, and that the vehicles are operating “with assistance.” Nevertheless, even the use of FSD Supervised or TAD in Grünheide would represent progress, as the German approval for this assistance system has not yet been granted.