Elon Musk’s car manufacturer tesla The company has rebranded its “Fully Self-Driving (Supervised)” (FSD) system in Europe as “Driving Assistance” after German regulators criticized the brand name as “somewhat misleading”.
The package continues to be sold as a $99 monthly subscription to Tesla owners in the US under the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) brand.
Tesla is aiming to obtain approval across Europe. Electric vehicle sales have increased this year due to soaring fuel costs due to the Iran war, and Tesla’s sales are showing signs of recovery from last year’s slump.
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport, known as BMV, said in a statement on Tuesday that Tesla’s brand name “FSD” is “somewhat misleading,” adding: “This is not a system that takes over the entire driving task. Rather, it is a driver assistance system that can support specific driving tasks such as acceleration, braking, and steering. The driver must remain alert at all times.”
Tesla is seeking swift approval for its system from European car regulators, particularly the Netherlands. In some cases, Tesla’s “coercive behavior” has forced regulators to reduce the intensity of safety tests and reviews of the company’s technology, Reuters reported.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. auto safety regulator, is also investigating Tesla’s FSD to determine whether it can be safely used by drivers in fog, glaring sun and other conditions of reduced visibility, and is investigating Tesla to determine whether the FSD caused Tesla drivers to commit traffic violations, some of which led to crashes.
In December 2025, a California judge ruled that Tesla had falsely marketed its Autopilot and FSD systems as fully self-driving systems. Tesla countersued the California DMV in Los Angeles Superior Court to remove its “false advertiser” label. That lawsuit is ongoing.
Tesla said in its second-quarter earnings update that it had 1.48 million “active” FSD subscriptions, but did not say whether that number was activated through free trials or other incentives.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
