Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) provided self-generated safety data to regulators in several European countries as part of its effort to secure approval for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, but independent road-safety experts have questioned the validity of the figures, arguing that they may present an overly favourable view of the technology’s safety performance.
The issue comes as the electric vehicle manufacturer seeks broader approval of FSD across Europe, a region where it is attempting to rebuild market share amid growing competition and weaker sales.
Reuters Investigation Questions Safety Comparisons
A Reuters investigation published last month found that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and other company executives have increasingly cited statistics suggesting that vehicles using FSD are up to ten times safer than human drivers.
However, Reuters reported that several of the comparisons underpinning those claims were flawed and may have overstated the system’s safety benefits.
Documents obtained through public records requests showed that Tesla shared some of these statistics with European regulators during the approval process.
Dutch Approval Process Included Safety Reports
Tesla first approached the Dutch road authority, RDW, in late 2024 to begin seeking approval for FSD in the Netherlands.
In correspondence sent to the regulator in November 2024, Tesla referenced its own safety report and argued that increased adoption of FSD “leads to safer roads.”
Following more than a year of testing and discussions, RDW approved the system for use in the Netherlands in April and is now pursuing broader European Union approval on Tesla’s behalf.
The regulator stated that it “does not rely on marketing claims or external statistics” when making decisions and instead conducts its own “tests, analyses and verifications” using public roads and controlled testing environments.
RDW added that Tesla “collected a lot of data” during testing and that the authority “validated, tested and audited all of this data.”
The agency did not specify the nature of the data reviewed or whether it evaluated Tesla’s U.S.-based safety statistics.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Claims of Accident Reduction Draw Criticism
After receiving Dutch approval, Tesla policy manager Ivan Komusanac contacted Swedish regulators seeking similar authorisation for FSD.
According to correspondence reviewed by Reuters, Tesla provided a presentation claiming that vehicles operating with FSD could travel more than seven times farther between crashes than the average U.S. driver.
The presentation also suggested that the technology could potentially have prevented 32,000 deaths and 1.9 million injuries.
Researchers interviewed by Reuters challenged those conclusions, arguing that the calculations relied on assumptions that all U.S. vehicles would be replaced by FSD-equipped Teslas and that each Tesla would be significantly safer than the vehicle it replaced.
Reuters also reported that Tesla compared crashes involving FSD-equipped vehicles that triggered airbag deployment with broader U.S. crash statistics that include many less severe incidents, potentially skewing the results.
In addition, critics noted that Tesla often compares its vehicles with the average U.S. vehicle fleet, which is generally older and lacks many modern safety technologies.
European Regulators Emphasise Independent Evaluation
Anders Eriksson, an investigator at the Swedish Transport Agency, declined to comment on Tesla’s specific submissions but said regulators “look beyond headline figures” and that any assessment would not be based “solely on aggregated safety claims, but on the overall evidence presented.”
The agency did not provide details about additional evidence supplied by Tesla.
Dudley Curtis of the European Transport Safety Council expressed concern over Tesla’s use of what he described as “unreliable safety data.”
He added that if Tesla wished to support its claims, the company should “give the data to a university, have it independently verified by a qualified researcher, and then let’s talk.”
FSD Seen as Key to Tesla’s European Growth Strategy
Tesla has repeatedly stated that wider approval of FSD is important to its future growth prospects in Europe.
The company is seeking to recover from a period of declining sales that followed protests linked to Elon Musk’s political activities, including his support for several far-right political movements in Europe.
Failure to secure broader approval could place Tesla at a disadvantage as Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers continue expanding their presence across the region.
For FSD to gain approval throughout the European Union, representatives from member states accounting for 55% of countries and 65% of the bloc’s population must vote in favour of the proposal.
Debate Continues Across Europe
While EU-wide approval remains under consideration, individual countries retain the ability to authorise the technology independently.
Greek regulators recently indicated they are aiming to approve FSD and cited safety data “from the other side of the Atlantic” that suggested “this system ultimately leads to a very significant drop in accidents.”
The Greek transport ministry declined to confirm whether the figures originated from Tesla’s safety reports.
Meanwhile, correspondence showed that regulators in several European countries have received emails from Tesla supporters citing the company’s safety statistics and urging faster approval.
In Norway, several Tesla owners referenced Tesla’s vehicle safety reports when contacting road authorities. One supporter argued that the technology is “significantly safer than average manual driving” and could “reduce traffic accidents by up to 90% and thus save lives on Norwegian roads.”
Responding to some of those messages, Stein-Helge Mundal of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration noted that Tesla’s figures “are self-produced,” making it “difficult to find correlation with the authorities’ accident statistics.”