Belgium Approves Tesla FSD for Hardware 4 Vehicles

Belgium has authorised Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder announced on X, Reuters reports. Automotive World reports the approval was signed on 11 June and, per Belgian rules, authorisations granted by a region apply across all Belgian territories. Reuters reports Belgium is the fifth EU member state to clear the system after the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia and Denmark.

Automotive World reports the Belgian rollout is restricted to Hardware 4 vehicles sold from 2023 onward and deploys a European variant of the FSD v14 software branch. Automotive World reports Tesla completed a series of in-country tests ahead of the signature. Automotive World also reports Tesla AI Chief Ashok Elluswamy confirmed at the CVPR conference in Denver that the company is tracking a broader EU rollout map internally.

Automotive World reports the European Commission Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles requires a vote that clears 55% of member states and 65% of the EU population for pan-EU recognition, thresholds that give the large markets of Germany, France or Italy effective veto power, and Automotive World reports the committee is not expected to vote before October at the earliest. Reuters notes authorisations signed in one Belgian region are valid nationally.

Country-level homologation creates immediate operational permission in small and mid-sized markets, but it does not substitute for a Commission-level approval that requires population and state thresholds. Industry-pattern observations: For distributed systems such as driver assistance, differences in local homologation practices frequently produce a staggered, market-by-market rollout and additional integration work for localisation and compliance verification.

Editorial analysis: The five approvals so far are concentrated in smaller European markets, per Automotive World, which means incremental user access but limited shift in competitive dynamics until one or more of Germany, France or Italy change position. Editorial analysis: For practitioners, that implies deployments and data-collection opportunities will remain geographically fragmented, complicating cross-market benchmarking and aggregated safety analyses.

Watch whether Germany, France or Italy publish formal assessments or lab findings addressing cyclist, motorcycle and dense urban environment behaviour, issues Automotive World reports have been raised by those countries. Industry context: Monitor the European Commission Technical Committee calendar for an October vote and any published minutes or test-data requirements. Industry context: Track whether other mid-size EU states also issue approvals, and whether Tesla or independent bodies publish comparative safety data for the European variant of FSD v14.