HELSINKI, June 23 - Finland's Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) said on Tuesday it may greenlight Tesla's supervised driving assistance software on a faster timetable than the anticipated EU-level decision slated for October 2026, provided the authority receives the additional material it deems necessary.
Traficom noted that an EU-wide solution is expected in October 2026. However, the agency added that it is prepared to move more quickly after the summer if further information on key assessment areas is obtained. The agency listed three specific technical concerns it is reviewing as part of its assessment.
First, Traficom said it is evaluating how rapidly a driver can retake control from the system. Second, the authority is assessing how the technology manages overtaking maneuvers in low-visibility conditions, a scenario relevant to Finnish road environments. Third, officials are examining the system's speed offset feature, an item that has attracted caution from neighboring regulators in Sweden and Norway.
Traficom described its general view of the system as positive. The agency also noted that because Tesla's Full Self-Driving requires human supervision it is not classified as fully autonomous. Nonetheless, the statement said that genuinely self-driving vehicles could appear on Finnish roads as early as 2028.
Several other European countries have moved to allow the system following provisional approval from the Netherlands in April. Estonia and Belgium are among those that have since permitted the technology, which enables cars to steer themselves, while some regulators continue to express reservations.
The EU-level committee vote remains scheduled for October, with the next member state discussion set for June 30. In Finland specifically, Traficom reported that about 6,500 passenger cars in the country are equipped with the system, representing roughly 0.24% of Finland's 2.7 million passenger vehicles.
Traficom's willingness to proceed ahead of an EU decision hinges on receiving the additional information it has requested about system performance and safety in the areas it identified. The agency's statement framed its posture as conditional - prepared to accelerate review timelines if outstanding technical material satisfies its assessment needs.
Context and implications
Approval by Finland before an EU-wide vote would constitute an earlier national step toward deployment of supervised driving assistance software in a European market. The agency's specific technical questions underline the regulatory focus on driver takeover behavior, low-visibility operations and a speed offset setting that neighboring regulators have highlighted as a concern.