Tesla has renamed its "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" system to "Assisted Driving" in Europe after German regulators publicly challenged the original branding as misleading, underscoring the growing friction between the automaker and continental safety authorities.
The German Federal Ministry of Transport, known as the BMV, said in a statement on Tuesday that the "FSD" brand name was "somewhat misleading," noting that "It is not a system that takes over the entire driving task. Rather, it is a driver assistance system that can support certain driving tasks such as accelerating, braking, and steering. The driver must remain attentive at all times."
Tesla continues to market the system in the United States under its original Full Self-Driving (Supervised) branding at $99 per month for subscribers. In its second-quarter earnings update, Tesla disclosed 1.48 million "active" FSD subscriptions, though the company did not specify how many of those were activated through free trials or other promotional incentives.
The rebrand comes as Tesla pushes to expand its footprint in Europe, where electric vehicle sales have climbed this year amid rising fuel costs tied to the war in Iran, and where the company has shown signs of recovering from a sales slump in 2025.
Tesla's approach to European regulators has not been without controversy. In some cases, Tesla's pressure on regulators — particularly in the Netherlands — prompted officials to scale back the intensity of their safety tests and reviews of the technology, according to prior reporting.
The regulatory friction in Europe mirrors ongoing scrutiny in the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Tesla's FSD to determine whether the system is safe for use in fog, glaring sun, or other reduced-visibility conditions. A separate NHTSA inquiry is examining whether FSD caused Tesla drivers to commit traffic violations, some of which resulted in collisions.
Legal challenges have compounded the regulatory pressure. In December 2025, a California judge ruled that Tesla had engaged in deceptive marketing around its Autopilot and FSD systems, finding the company had falsely implied the systems were fully automated. Tesla has since filed a countersuit against the California DMV in Los Angeles superior court in an effort to overturn the "false advertiser" designation — litigation that remains ongoing.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the European rebrand.
The name change in Europe signals that regulators in major markets are increasingly willing to intervene on how driver-assistance technology is described to consumers — a dynamic that could shape how Tesla and its competitors communicate the capabilities and limitations of their systems going forward.
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