It's almost ironic. Denmark, alongside Sweden, Finland and Norway, recently demanded that Brussels take a closer look at Tesla's Full Self-Driving. Today, the Danish regulator signed off on it. The country has become the fourth in Europe to let FSD Supervised loose on its roads. All in roughly eight weeks.
Before Denmark, the green light came from the Netherlands, Lithuania and Estonia. And the pattern keeps repeating: one country approves, the neighbours follow.
The doubts had been loud. Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway openly questioned FSD at the EU level — speeding, behaviour on icy roads, the very name Full Self-Driving sounding bolder than the system actually is. And now Færdselsstyrelsen, yesterday a sceptic, has accepted the provisional approval issued by the Dutch RDW on April 10. Not just accepted — the agency stressed it reviewed the technical files itself.
And then it drew a hard line. No room for illusions.
“The system does not make the car self-driving. The driver remains fully responsible for the vehicle.”
That's the boundary Tesla doesn't like to talk about too loudly. FSD Supervised is still a Level 2 system — not a robot chauffeur. It steers, brakes, changes lanes and takes turns. But hands on the wheel and eyes on the road are non-negotiable.
The European subscription costs 99 euros a month. For owners who bought Enhanced Autopilot in the past, the price drops to 49 euros. Meanwhile, Tesla is on a tear in Denmark — 1,751 cars were registered in May, up 136% year-on-year. The appetite is there.
But the whole structure hangs by a thread. If the European Commission ultimately rejects the system, the Dutch provisional approval expires after six months — and the national clearances collapse with it. All four. And every future one too.
Against the backdrop of Mercedes-Benz and BMW retreating from Level 3 in Europe, Tesla's strategy looks simpler and cheaper: fewer legal promises, more features under the driver's responsibility. Mercedes has already paused Drive Pilot for the upcoming S-Class and EQS facelifts, and BMW killed off Personal Pilot L3. Tesla is moving differently — and for now, faster.
But the real test won't happen in Copenhagen. Or in The Hague. The European Commission's vote will decide which road the whole continent takes.
