Finland’s transport agency Traficom said it recognized, on Nov. 10, the Dutch authority’s provisional type approval for Tesla Assisted Driving, so Tesla “can immediately start offering the system to its customers in Finland,” the agency announced Nov. 11. Euronews also reported the decision.
Why it matters: The system was previously called FSD (Supervised). Traficom said references to self-driving have been removed and that the new name is now used in Finnish- and Swedish-language marketing and user guidance. Drivers remain fully responsible. EU-wide approval still requires a vote in the European Commission’s Technical Committee — Motor Vehicles, the agency said.
Senior Specialist Jukka Juhola said the earlier national recognition will let Finnish Tesla users try the system “before the most challenging winter conditions arrive,” but that “its operation may be subject to various limitations if the cameras become covered in snow, slush or other dirt.” Traficom also described speed-control changes: drivers can no longer set the system to continuously hold an unnecessarily high speed 50% above the limit, speeding-allowed settings reset to the speed limit when the vehicle is restarted, and drivers get clearer information about the selected speed settings.
“The name change helps users and the market understand the true nature of the system,” Juhola said. Traficom stressed that recognizing the Dutch approval nationally “does not bind Finland in the EU-level vote,” and that after a successful TCMV vote it takes about three weeks for EU-wide approval to take effect. Introducing the system usually does not require a modification inspection unless the car has been altered, such as with unusual tire sizes or lowered suspension, the agency said.