Tesla Inc. (TSLA) is getting some international love for its Full Self-Driving technology just as the company prepares to roll out the feature across Europe next year. A South Korean lawmaker took the system for a spin and came away impressed enough to become something of an evangelist for the technology.

Building Government Support

Lee So-young, a member of South Korea's National Assembly, appeared in a video Wednesday singing FSD's praises. She described the technology as "a completed technology" with the potential to fundamentally change how people live their daily lives. Pretty high praise for a feature that's still technically in beta testing.

Lee explained that FSD's "recent launch of FSD was the first public application in Korea," and she wanted to experience it herself because South Koreans haven't "had the chance to understand what is happening on the roads globally." Now she's planning to encourage other government leaders in the country to get behind the wheel and see what autonomous driving feels like. It's an interesting grassroots approach to building regulatory support.

California Troubles and Falling Numbers

The timing of Lee's endorsement is particularly notable given Tesla's recent troubles back in California. The company was hit with a 30-day suspension on manufacturing and selling vehicles in the state after a court ruled that its marketing terms like "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" were deceptive to customers. The issue? Tesla vehicles aren't actually optimized for unsupervised autonomous driving yet, despite what those names might suggest.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the California DMV earlier this year. Meanwhile, Tesla is simultaneously testing driverless Robotaxis in Austin, trying to hit CEO Elon Musk's end-of-year timeline for that initiative. It's a bit of regulatory whiplash for the company.

Sales aren't looking great either. Tesla recorded a steep 23% decline in November sales as EV demand softened across the U.S. The changing policy environment under President Donald Trump, including relaxed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, hasn't helped the situation. When fuel efficiency rules loosen, consumers have less incentive to go electric.

Price Action: According to market data, TSLA surged 1.39% to $473.75 during pre-market trading.