At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026, Elon Musk set out his hopes for supervised FSD approvals beyond the United States. He described the underlying autonomy problem as largely solved and said he hoped for European approval as early as the following month, February 2026, with a similar hoped-for timetable for China. These were Musk’s expectations at the time, rather than decisions announced by the regulators.
Europe: a hoped-for February 2026 decision
Tesla had previously said on X that the Dutch authority, RDW, had committed to assessing the possibility of national approval for supervised FSD by February 2026. Tesla was pursuing approval in the Netherlands, after which other EU member states might consider recognising it voluntarily. A national decision would not automatically mean approval or availability throughout the EU.
Preparations on the ground
Tesla had organised FSD ride-along demonstrations for authorities, journalists and the public in several European countries. Germany, France, Denmark and Italy were among the markets mentioned. A favourable RDW decision could support an initial European rollout, subject to the permissions required in each country.
China: Musk’s optimism and regulatory caution
The position in China was less clear. Despite Tesla’s progress, including its mapping partnership with Baidu and work on data-security requirements, the report described continued regulatory caution. After Musk’s comments, Chinese state media cited government sources disputing the suggested approval timing. The article said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was still considering safety matters and linked those checks to delays affecting an earlier FSD v13 rollout on AI4 vehicles. It did not establish a confirmed approval date.
How to read those expectations
Musk’s description of autonomy as solved was an expression of confidence, not a regulatory finding. The article placed his comments alongside Tesla’s Robotaxi developments in Austin, FSD v14 improvements and future AI5 hardware. Those developments could inform regulators’ assessments, but an Austin service and a supervised consumer system are distinct uses. Neither progress nor a hoped-for date replaced the need for an official decision.
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