{"id":8989,"date":"2026-04-21T13:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/8989\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:40:10","slug":"tesla-fsd-in-europe-testing-in-spain-shines-as-italy-pushes-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/8989\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla FSD in Europe: Testing in Spain Shines as Italy Pushes Approval"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 21, 2026 <\/p>\n

By Karan Singh<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Following the regulatory approval of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised)<\/a> by the Dutch vehicle authority (RDW), the rest of Europe is beginning to show its hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New developments in both Spain and Italy suggest that regulatory bodies are closely monitoring the Netherlands and actively preparing for a rollout of autonomous driving technologies.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s DGT Breaks Its Silence<\/p>\n

In a recent correspondence shared by @BarcelonaGeekYT<\/a> on X, Spain\u2019s Direcci\u00f3n General de Tr\u00e1fico (DGT) provided an update on their stance regarding FSD and revealed some incredibly promising internal testing data.<\/p>\n

While the DGT clarified that they handle road safety and vehicle registration rather than direct vehicle type approval, they expressed strong support for the integration of advanced driving technologies under their Road Safety Strategy 2030.<\/p>\n

Flawless Testing Under ES-AV Framework<\/p>\n

The most significant revelation in the DGT’s response was confirmation of Tesla’s active testing in Spain. Under the country’s highly advanced ES-AV Framework Programme (Evaluation of the Safety and Technology of Automated Vehicles), Tesla has been quietly validating its localized software on Spanish roads.<\/p>\n

According to the official communication, the testing results have been spotless. Tesla is currently operating a test fleet of 30 vehicles equipped with FSD across Spain. Since November 2025, these vehicles have accumulated nearly 80,000 kilometers (~50,000 mi) of testing, with zero reported incidents to date.<\/p>\n

The Path Forward in Spain<\/p>\n

The DGT acknowledged the recent breakthrough in the Netherlands, stating that the RDW’s decision provides “new potential opportunities to improve mobility” and serves as a vital first step toward making automated vehicles a reality across the European Union.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the agency confirmed that systems like Tesla’s FSD can be legally registered and used on Spanish roads, provided they secure the appropriate EU type approval under UN Regulation No. 171 (Level 2 DCAS). The DGT did offer one final, expected caveat: regardless of the technology’s capabilities, the human driver will always remain strictly responsible for maintaining control of the vehicle at all times, as expected for Level 2 systems.<\/p>\n

Italy Moves to Fast-Track Approvals<\/p>\n

Spain is not the only Mediterranean country making moves. In Italy, the regulatory wheels are also beginning to turn at an accelerated pace.<\/p>\n

Following the Dutch approval, community requests to bring FSD to Italian roads have gained significant traction. The Italian Ministry of Transport has reportedly acknowledged these requests and officially forwarded a community petition to fast-track the approval process, sending it directly to the Transport Department and local DMV equivalents for review.<\/p>\n

As the RDW’s initial approval begins to permeate throughout the European Union, the bureaucratic red tape that has historically blocked Tesla’s advanced driver assistance systems appears to finally be unraveling.<\/p>\n

Ordering a New Tesla?<\/p>\n

Use our referral code<\/a> and get 3 months free of FSD or $1,000 off your new Tesla.<\/p>\n

April 20, 2026 <\/p>\n

By Karan Singh<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Under a Standing General Order<\/a> issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), companies testing or deploying Automated Driving Systems (ADS) on public roads are required to report crash data. A dive into the latest publicly available incident reports offers a look not just at how these vehicles are crashing, but how different companies approach transparency.<\/p>\n

Comparing Tesla’s data against competitors like Waymo and Zoox reveals stark differences in fleet exposure, the nature of the collisions, and a massive gap in public reporting practices.<\/p>\n

The Incident Volume<\/p>\n

Looking at the raw numbers, the dataset contains 825 total reported ADS incidents. Waymo accounts for the vast majority of these, with 697 reported crashes. They are followed by Avride (41), Zoox (32), and Tesla (18).<\/p>\n

It is important to provide context for these figures. Waymo operates a massive, fully autonomous robotaxi fleet actively driving millions of miles in densely populated urban centers like San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their higher incident volume is a direct reflection of this massive fleet exposure in chaotic environments. Tesla’s relatively low number of 18 incidents in this specific ADS reporting category also reflects the much smaller and slower-than-expected rollout of Robotaxi.<\/p>\n

Incidents with FSD (Supervised) are not counted in this dataset, as they are not from an Unsupervised L4 Autonomous Vehicle but rather from an L2+ system that is still supervised by consumers.<\/p>\n

What Do AVs Hit Most?<\/p>\n

The NHTSA data categorizes what the autonomous vehicles collided with, shedding light on the different challenges these systems face.<\/p>\n

Because of their heavy urban presence, Waymo vehicles primarily collide with standard city traffic. Their data shows 229 collisions with passenger cars, 161 with SUVs, and dozens of impacts with heavy trucks and city buses.<\/p>\n

Tesla’s 18 reported crashes show a slightly different pattern. The most common crash partner for a Tesla in this dataset was an “Other Fixed Object” with five incidents, followed closely by four collisions with SUVs. Tesla also reported single incidents involving a cyclist, an animal, and a bus.<\/p>\n

Injuries and Engagement<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the vast majority of all reported ADS crashes resulted in property damage only.<\/p>\n

For Tesla, 16 of the 18 incidents involved no injuries. There were only two reported injuries: one minor injury requiring hospitalization and one minor injury without hospitalization. Notably, NHTSA tracks whether the autonomous system was actually driving at the time of the impact. For all 18 of Tesla’s reported crashes, the system status was marked as “Verified Engaged.”<\/p>\n

Waymo’s massive sample size naturally includes more variance. Out of their 697 incidents, 613 resulted in property damage only. However, the data does show 23 incidents involving injuries that required hospitalization, 51 incidents with minor injuries not requiring a hospital visit, and one reported fatality.<\/p>\n

Tesla\u2019s Transparency Gap<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most glaring takeaway from the dataset is not the physical crash data, but the Narrative section of the reports. NHTSA allows companies to provide a detailed written account explaining exactly how the crash occurred.<\/p>\n

Competitors like Waymo and Zoox utilize this section to provide detailed, multi-paragraph accounts of the incidents. Waymo’s narratives frequently detail complex lane changes, intersection behavior, the specific actions of human drivers in other vehicles, and whether passengers were wearing seatbelts. This level of detail provides valuable context for regulators and the public to understand the system’s limitations and safety.<\/p>\n

Tesla takes the exact opposite approach. The automaker completely redacts its crash narratives. Every single Tesla narrative in the public dataset is replaced with the same boilerplate text: [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION].<\/p>\n

By shielding the specifics of its crashes behind confidentiality claims, Tesla makes it impossible for the public to understand what went wrong in those 18 incidents, in stark contrast to the open reporting of its industry peers. Tesla typically focuses on engineering disciplines and often falls short in customer service, and this is likely the reason why these areas aren\u2019t filled out.<\/p>\n

April 20, 2026 <\/p>\n

By Karan Singh<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tesla is officially laying the physical groundwork for its upcoming Robotaxi fleet, starting right in the heart of its biggest competitor’s home turf. Recent permit filings reveal that Tesla is planning a major charging hub specifically designed for the Cybercab in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Phoenix East Valley<\/p>\n

According to newly discovered municipal filings<\/a>, Tesla has submitted pre-permit applications for two distinct, large-scale charging locations in Arizona:<\/p>\n

The first application was submitted to the city of Chandler last week. It outlines the construction of 56 V4 Supercharger stalls on an industrial plot along South Roosevelt Ave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A second application was also submitted for a site in the neighboring city of Mesa, at 5349 E Main St.<\/p>\n

Both applications were submitted on the same day and are located in the industrial districts of their respective cities, where less traffic and disruption are expected from self-parking autonomous vehicles (AVs).<\/p>\n

Charging Robotaxis Only<\/p>\n

What makes these two specific permit applications so notable is the language used regarding public access. Unlike standard Supercharger stations designed to serve the broader EV community, the applications explicitly state that these new chargers will not be publicly available.<\/p>\n

This designation strongly suggests that these industrial plots are being designed as the very first dedicated fleet charging hubs for Tesla’s upcoming Cybercab network. By utilizing the latest V4 charging infrastructure, Tesla will be able to rapidly charge its dedicated Robotaxi vehicles, minimizing downtime and maximizing the number of autonomous passenger rides the fleet can provide each day.<\/p>\n

Taking the Fight to Waymo<\/p>\n

The geographic placement of these first private hubs is incredibly telling. The Phoenix East Valley, which encompasses cities like Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe, is famously the exact region where Alphabet’s Waymo first launched and scaled its own autonomous ride-hailing service back in 2018.<\/p>\n

By building its initial Cybercab-specific infrastructure in Waymo’s original testing grounds, Tesla is positioning itself to directly challenge the current market leader. The Phoenix area offers an ideal environment for autonomous testing and deployment, featuring wide, well-maintained roads, predictable weather patterns, and a local population already highly accustomed to sharing the streets with driverless vehicles.<\/p>\n

As Tesla continues to refine Full Self-Driving and push toward the official launch of its dedicated Robotaxi platform, the physical infrastructure required to support that massive fleet is quietly beginning to take shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 21, 2026 By Karan Singh Following the regulatory approval of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) by the Dutch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[213,5513,2886,4362,66,5512,866,5514,17,5511],"class_list":["post-8989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-ai","tag-approval","tag-autonomy","tag-dgt","tag-europe","tag-fsd","tag-italy","tag-rdw","tag-spain","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}