Tesla Inc. (TSLA) wants European drivers to see what all the Full Self-Driving fuss is about. The electric vehicle maker is rolling out free FSD demonstration rides across Germany, France, and Italy as it gears up for a February 2026 deployment of the technology in Europe.
Taking FSD on a European Tour
According to Tesla's official events page, the complimentary rides will continue through year-end and span dozens of cities. German locations include Hannover, Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Hamburg. French customers can book rides in Lyon, Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Nantes. Italian cities on the roster include Rome, Milan, Bologna, and Verona.
Here's how it works: You sit in the passenger seat while a Tesla employee takes the wheel and demonstrates how Full Self-Driving (Supervised) handles actual road conditions. "Our team will take you on a ride-along, showing how Full Self-Driving (Supervised) works in real road conditions," Tesla explained in the event description. It's basically a test drive where you're not doing the testing.
Regulatory Progress and Investor Enthusiasm
The RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority) confirmed it's collaborating with Tesla to secure regulatory approval for FSD deployment in the region. The authority backed up Tesla's February 2026 timeline but declined to share additional details, citing sensitive marketing data.
Meanwhile, Tesla shareholder Ross Gerber, who co-founded investment firm Gerber Kawasaki, had positive things to say about FSD v14.2's latest updates, praising the improvements over earlier versions of the technology.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously teased that FSD v14.3 might deliver unsupervised autonomy, describing it as the "final puzzle piece" in a post on X. That's a significant claim, considering current FSD versions still require active driver supervision.
Sales Struggles Continue in Europe
The promotional push comes as Tesla faces headwinds in the European market. The company reported just 6,964 new registrations in October across Europe, marking a steep 48.5% year-over-year decline compared to October 2024. Year-to-date registrations from January through October totaled 180,688 units, down 29.6% from the same period last year.
Perhaps demonstrating FSD's capabilities directly to potential customers could help turn those numbers around. After all, it's one thing to read about autonomous driving technology and another to experience it firsthand with a trained operator showing you what it can do.
Price Action: TSLA gained 1.71% to close at $426.58, according to market data.