Tesla (TSLA) Stock: Another Country Says Yes to Full Self-Driving

TLDR

• Croatia approved Tesla’s supervised Full Self-Driving system for use in the country.
• Deployment in Croatia is expected to start soon, according to Tesla.
• Croatia joins the Netherlands, Belgium, and Slovenia as European countries that have approved the tech.
• Dutch regulator RDW has proposed approval of FSD across the whole European Union.
• A wider EU vote has been pushed back, with a possible decision now expected in December.

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Tesla stock (TSLA) fell 4% on Tuesday as the company announced a new approval for its Full Self-Driving software in Europe. Croatia has cleared the supervised system for use, and Tesla says rollout in the country will begin soon.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

The move adds another country to Tesla’s growing list of European approvals. It comes at a time when the automaker is leaning hard on driver-assistance tech to help its sales numbers.

Croatia is not the first stop on this tour. The Dutch regulator RDW gave the green light back in April.

Belgium followed shortly after. Slovenia joined the list earlier this month, putting Croatia in good company.

A Bigger EU Push Is Still Pending

RDW has gone further than just approving the system for the Netherlands. The regulator has proposed that FSD be approved across the entire European Union.

That would mean one approval covering all 27 member states instead of country-by-country sign-offs. It would also speed up Tesla’s ability to sell the feature across the continent.

But the proposal has not sailed through without pushback. A safety group and several EU member states have raised concerns about the system’s ability to exceed posted speed limits.

That specific issue, speed limit compliance, has turned into one of the most contested points in Tesla’s European rollout. Regulators want assurance that supervised self-driving does not mean ignoring the rules of the road.

Timeline Keeps Shifting

A vote on the EU-wide rollout was originally expected in October. That timeline has now slipped.

The next real opportunity for a decision is not expected before December. That is a two-month delay from the original target.

Getting the rollout approved is not a simple majority vote either. It requires what is called a “qualified majority,” meaning support from at least 15 of the EU’s 27 member states.

Those 15 states also need to represent 65% of the bloc’s total population. That is a higher bar than a standard headcount vote, since it weighs population alongside country count.

For Tesla, the stakes go beyond software features. The company has pointed to FSD as a key piece of its plan to boost sales and win back market share in Europe.

Competition from Chinese electric-vehicle makers has been squeezing Tesla in several European markets. Faster access to driver-assistance features is one lever the company has to work with.

For now, Croatia gives Tesla one more approved market to add to the list. The Netherlands, Belgium, and Slovenia already have the green light, and Croatia’s rollout is expected to start soon.

The bigger prize, EU-wide approval, remains stuck in the review process. December is the next date to watch for a possible vote.