Tesla claimed victory on European Full Self-Driving approval. The regulator in charge says that never happened and wants Tesla fans to stop flooding its customer service lines with thank-you messages.

The public contradiction exposes an unconventional pressure campaign that one autonomous driving expert called “unheard of” in regulatory history.

RDW Disputes Tesla’s February 2026 Promise

Tesla’s Europe and Middle East account posted on X Sunday claiming the Dutch vehicle authority RDW “has committed to granting Netherlands National approval in February 2026.” The post encouraged Tesla owners to contact the regulator to express excitement and thank them.

RDW fired back within hours.

The Dutch authority issued a statement Monday clarifying it made no such commitment. RDW confirmed only that both parties established a schedule for Tesla to demonstrate FSD compliance in February, not receive approval.

“Both RDW and Tesla are aware of the efforts needed to reach a decision on this matter in February,” the regulator stated. “Whether this timeline will be met is yet to be determined in the coming period.”

The distinction matters enormously. A demonstration means Tesla gets to show its technology. An approval means European drivers get to use it.

Regulator Asks Tesla Fans To Back Off

RDW took the unusual step of directly addressing Tesla’s fan mobilization campaign.

“We thank everyone who has already done so, but would like to urge people not to contact us about this matter,” the authority stated. “It takes up unnecessary time for our customer service. Furthermore, this will have no impact whatsoever on whether or not the schedule will be met.”

The regulator emphasized that safety considerations, not public pressure, will determine FSD’s fate.

“Road safety remains the RDW’s top priority: approval is only possible once the safety of the system has been convincingly demonstrated.”

Expert Calls Pressure Campaign ‘Unheard Of’

Siddartha Khastgir, head of safe autonomy at the University of Warwick and a leading voice on autonomous vehicle regulation, questioned whether Tesla’s February timeline is even realistic.

“If the approval process is still being worked on, there’s no way you can get an approval to deploy in February,” Khastgir told Bloomberg in a phone interview.

Khastgir sits on United Nations committees governing automated driving safety standards. He described Tesla’s effort to pressure RDW through customer campaigns as unprecedented.

“Tesla’s effort to pressure the RDW is unheard of,” Khastgir said in a follow-up email. “An approval process of an automated driving system is deeply technical one to ensure the safety of the public.”

He added a pointed warning about regulatory independence.

“The sanctity of any such approvals is ensured by its independence and rigor, not force. While public sentiment is important for all authorities, this shouldn’t undermine the rigor of the approval process.”

Musk Asked For Customer Pressure Earlier This Month

The Tesla CEO has made no secret of his frustration with European regulators.

At Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting earlier this month, Musk directly asked European customers to lobby on the company’s behalf.

“Pressure from our customers in Europe to push the regulators to approve would be appreciated,” Musk said during the meeting.

Tesla has spent over 12 months working toward European FSD deployment, conducting demonstrations for regulators in nearly every EU country and logging over 1 million kilometers (621,000 miles) in internal testing across 17 nations.

The company argues European regulations are “outdated and rule-based, making FSD illegal in its current form.” Rather than modify the software to comply, Tesla seeks exemptions on a rule-by-rule basis.

The Netherlands Strategy Explained

Tesla’s approach relies on securing Dutch approval first, then leveraging EU mutual recognition rules to expand across Europe.

RDW serves as the type approval authority for the Netherlands, which hosts Tesla’s European headquarters in Tilburg. Once the Netherlands grants an exemption, other EU member states can recognize it immediately without conducting their own reviews.

This creates a potential domino effect for EU-wide rollout without waiting for slower pan-European regulatory processes.

The strategy mirrors Tesla’s approach in Norway, where the company secured a two-year FSD testing exemption in April 2025. EV expert Kees Roelandschap noted at the time that Norway and the Netherlands together “form the foundation of Tesla’s multi-country approval strategy.”

FSD Safety Data Under Scrutiny

Tesla has updated its website reporting FSD safety data, but experts have questioned the methodology.

Bloomberg noted that researchers have challenged the validity of Tesla’s safety claims due to “flawed comparisons and other methodological issues.” Critics argue Tesla’s data showing FSD performs better than human drivers relies on inconsistent measurement approaches.

In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into 2.9 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD in October following 58 reports of traffic safety violations, including 14 crashes causing 23 injuries.

EVXL’s Take

This public spat between Tesla and RDW crystallizes everything broken about Tesla’s approach to European market challenges.

The company faces catastrophic sales declines across Europe, with October registrations plummeting by double digits in nearly every major market. Sweden dropped 89%. Denmark fell 86%. Germany cratered 54%.

Musk has repeatedly blamed European regulations for these struggles. At Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, he pointed to Europe’s stringent automated driving rules as a key obstacle, telling analysts that FSD serves as “a huge selling point” that European customers cannot access.

But here is the uncomfortable truth: FSD approval will not save Tesla’s European business.

The sales collapse stems from three interconnected problems we have been tracking all year: a stale product lineup, fierce Chinese competition from manufacturers like BYD, and brand damage from Musk’s political activities. None of those problems disappear if FSD launches in February, June, or ever.

Tesla’s pressure campaign also reveals a troubling pattern. When NHTSA opened its FSD investigation in October over traffic violations and crashes, Tesla responded by releasing “Mad Max” mode, which critics say encourages aggressive driving. Now facing European regulatory hurdles, the company mobilizes customers to flood a safety agency with messages.

This is not how serious automakers engage with regulators.

Professor Khastgir nailed it: autonomous vehicle approval processes exist to protect public safety, not to be swayed by social media campaigns. The fact that Tesla believed customer pressure would accelerate a deeply technical safety review suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of how European regulation works.

We reported back in April that Tesla’s Norway exemption strategy represented a clever workaround to EU bureaucracy. We noted in June that the Netherlands serves as the gateway for Tesla’s broader European FSD ambitions.

But clever regulatory strategy requires actually working with regulators, not publicly misrepresenting their commitments and then asking fans to thank them for approvals that do not exist.

RDW will make its decision based on whether Tesla can demonstrate FSD meets European safety standards. Not based on how many emails arrive in its inbox.

That is exactly how it should work.

Photo credit: Tesla