Autonomous driving: After rejecting Tesla’s FSD, France opens the door to its approval
On September 2, 2026, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot held a video conference with Elon Musk regarding Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. After initially rejecting it, France now seems to be changing its stance: two vehicles equipped with FSD will be tested on roads.
France’s position on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology appears to be about to change. Just a few weeks ago, the government believed that safety guarantees were still insufficient for its deployment in France. However, the recent discussion between Philippe Tabarot and Elon Musk on September 2 marks a new step in this lengthy approval process.
Two Teslas to Be Tested in France
After the video conference, the Transport Minister stated on X that Tesla would make two vehicles available to French authorities for road testing. Paris claims it has been working with the American manufacturer for several months on technical adjustments to address its concerns, which were detailed by Philippe Tabarot on July 22.
Constructive exchange tonight with @elonmusk regarding Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.
For several months now, French authorities have been working closely with @Tesla on the technical modifications needed to enable France to support its approval process, which will be available at https://t.co/d1Y90cGJLf
— Philippe Tabarot (@PhilippeTabarot) 2026-09-02T19:00:53.000Z
Because despite its name of Full Self-Driving, the system sold by Tesla is actually only a supervised driving system. It is therefore not an autonomous driving system in the true sense, like Waymo’s. It corresponds to level 2: the car can handle most of the driving, but the person in the driver’s seat must remain attentive and ready to take control at any moment.
An European approval growing ever closer
These tests come at a crucial moment for Tesla. A European decision on FSD could be made in the coming weeks, with a vote expected as early as October 6 in Brussels. To achieve a qualified majority, the measure will need support from at least 15 member states representing 65% of the European Union’s population. France’s influence could therefore prove decisive.
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Meanwhile, Tesla is trying to reassure authorities. The company claims that its FSD has resulted in 4.1 times fewer collisions compared to manual driving of its own vehicles over more than 100 million kilometers traveled in five European countries. But since these figures come directly from Tesla, it’s best to approach them with caution.
France has not yet given its approval to FSD. But after determining this summer that the system was not safe enough “as is,” it now seems ready to consider approving it if the final technical concerns are resolved.