Tesla has renamed its advanced driver-assistance feature from Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to Tesla Assisted Driving (TAD) in Europe. The change comes as the company seeks regulatory approval for its use on public roads. The German Transport Ministry stated that the previous name was considered "somewhat misleading" by Transport Minister Steffen Bilger, who has expressed support for expediting the approval process with European regulators. A vote on the feature's approval is expected by the end of the year.
Tesla updated its European sales website to reflect the new name on Friday. The company had previously resisted changing the name, even defending it in court. In 2022, California's Department of Motor Vehicles determined that Tesla's use of the terms "Full Self-Driving" and "Autopilot" was misleading and violated state law, leading to the discontinuation of the term "Autopilot."
Since its introduction in 2020, Tesla drivers have reported improvements in the FSD feature, with some claiming they can complete trips without intervention. However, the feature has faced scrutiny, including a federal probe in the US after incidents where FSD allegedly failed to respond appropriately. Tesla recalled an earlier version of the software in 2023 due to traffic law violations.
Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have been advocating for global approval of their driver assistance technology, which could create a significant revenue stream for the company. The feature has already been approved in Australia and New Zealand, while the Netherlands granted provisional permission for its launch in the spring. A version of the feature was made available to customers in China in May.
Recently, Reuters reported that Tesla presented misleading safety data to European regulators during its lobbying efforts for FSD approval, with safety researchers accusing the company of using misleading statistics in the US as well.