A new shuttle service powered by Tesla vehicles running Full Self-Driving (Supervised) has officially launched in Germany, marking the first project of its kind anywhere in Europe. The pilot program is operating in the rural Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm region of Rhineland-Palatinate and is aimed squarely at improving mobility outside major urban centers.
The project was announced by the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of Rhineland-Palatinate, which described the initiative as a “real gain for rural mobility.” According to the ministry, the shuttle service is designed to complement existing community bus systems by offering more flexible and accessible transportation options, particularly in areas where traditional transit can be limited or infrequent.
Importantly, the ministry emphasized that this effort was the result of close cooperation between municipalities, approval authorities, and Tesla itself. Economic Affairs and Transport Minister Daniela Schmitt even experienced the technology firsthand, underscoring the level of government involvement and oversight behind the pilot.
While Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system still requires human supervision, this launch represents a significant regulatory breakthrough in the European Union. Tesla has been aggressively pushing for broader FSD approval across global markets, especially in Europe, where the company has been offering ride-alongs to lawmakers and the public alike to demonstrate the system’s capabilities. FSD is already publicly available in seven countries, and Tesla is eyeing approval in European countries like Denmark and Germany, alongside the UAE, next.
The timing is also notable given Tesla’s rapid pace of software iteration. One of the more recent public versions of FSD, v14.2.1, started allowing drivers to text behind the wheel under certain road and traffic conditions, while Tesla is already testing an even more advanced “unsupervised” version internally with its Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas. Some Robotaxi vehicles have been operating without a human driver or safety monitor onboard, and one even recently chauffeured CEO Elon Musk around the city with what he described as “perfect driving.”
Beyond Tesla’s Robotaxi service, another of Elon Musk’s ventures, The Boring Company, recently began using FSD-powered vehicles for passenger transport in controlled environments like the Las Vegas Loop, but this German shuttle marks one of the clearest signs yet that autonomy is moving beyond demonstrations and into real-world public services.
For rural regions especially, this project could serve as a blueprint for how autonomous vehicles might fill transit gaps where traditional solutions fall short. More broadly, it sends a strong signal that Tesla’s autonomy ambitions are no longer confined to North America.
