Image: Tesla
Slovakia’s Ministry of Transport has officially recognized the preliminary type approval for Tesla FSD Supervised, so drivers can use the system on Slovak roads. That’s according to the ministry statement published Friday. By our count that makes Slovakia the ninth EU country to clear it, although the ministry itself only calls Slovakia “one of the few European countries” to allow it.
The Dutch vehicle authority RDW issued the preliminary approval in April, and the ministry notes that other member states can recognize it for their own territory, which Slovakia did today. Transport Minister Jozef Ráž said: “I am glad that when it comes to modern technologies in transport, Slovakia is not falling behind. Road safety is extremely important to us, so we are happy to support all innovations that raise it.”
The ministry describes Tesla‘s system as a driver-assistance package that uses cameras and neural networks to accelerate, brake, steer, change lanes, handle intersections and react to signs and traffic lights. Ráž was clear that it isn’t empty-seat autonomy. “It is not a fully autonomous system, so you shouldn’t imagine that the driver’s seat in the cars will be empty,” he said. “The driver is still fully responsible for the drive,” and the system constantly monitors the driver’s attention, warns them if they aren’t focused on driving and switches off if needed.
The Netherlands cleared the system on April 10, and every approval since then traces back to that one. Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium and Slovenia followed, then Czechia and Croatia, which became the eighth country in late September. Ráž first said a recognition letter was days away on Oct. 7, and today’s statement is that step made official.
An EU-wide vote isn’t expected before December, which is why countries keep recognizing the Dutch approval one at a time. Germany is pushing for a union-wide green light, and Tesla has since started calling the system Assisted Driving on most of its European sites after talks with Germany. The Slovak statement still uses the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) name.
What isn’t public yet is when Tesla will switch the feature on for Slovak owners, which cars and software versions get it first, or how many eligible Teslas are on Slovak plates. Which country do you think recognizes the Dutch approval next?
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