Exaggerating safety claims for market access? Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) is accused of submitting "inflated" FSD safety data to European regulators.

In order to obtain approval for its "Full Self-Driving (FSD)" system in the European market, Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) submitted self-compiled safety data to regulatory authorities in Sweden and the Netherlands. However, several independent road safety researchers have stated that this data is essentially misleading marketing material. A survey released last month showed that over the past year, Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk and company executives frequently cited internal statistics, claiming that the safety performance of the FSD driving assistance system is ten times better than that of human drivers. However, upon closer inspection by agencies, it was found that the statistics supporting these safety claims contained several invalid data comparisons, therefore exaggerating its safety. According to publicly available documentation, this electric vehicle manufacturer is actively seeking to roll out FSD on a large scale in Europe to regain lost market share. To this end, they have submitted these exaggerated safety data to some European regulatory agencies. By the end of 2024, Tesla, Inc. initiated the local certification process for FSD with the Dutch Vehicle Authority (RDW). In a letter sent to the RDW in November 2024, Tesla, Inc. provided a link to its safety report and claimed that "the more FSD is used, the higher the level of road safety." FSD is a subscription-based feature that allows for autonomous driving in certain road conditions, but still requires the driver to maintain attention and be ready to take over the vehicle at any time. After over a year of testing and discussions with Tesla, Inc., RDW approved the use of FSD in the Netherlands in April of this year. The Dutch regulatory agency is currently representing Tesla, Inc. in seeking comprehensive approval within the European Union. RDW declined to comment on the issues with Tesla, Inc.'s safety statistics, but stated in a release that their decisions "do not rely on marketing statements or external statistical data," but rather on independent testing, analysis, and verification on public roads and test sites. The agency did not specify whether they evaluated Tesla, Inc.'s safety statistics in the United States. RDW stated that Tesla, Inc. "collected a large amount of data" during testing, and that the agency "verified, tested, and audited all of this data." RDW did not specify what kind of data Tesla, Inc. collected or what their measurement standards were. Tesla, Inc. did not respond to requests for comment. Claiming to save 32,000 lives? Shortly after the decision was announced in the Netherlands on April 10, a policy manager at Tesla, Inc. named Ivan Komo... (Unfortunately, the text cut off here.)