Tesla started deliveries of Model 3 in Europe yesterday, but we’ve now learned that Autopilot is not available in those vehicles due to a delay in regulatory approval, but don’t panic – it should be available any day.
Update: as expected, Autopilot has now been approved and Tesla should be able to soon push the update.
The automaker received European homologation for Model 3 just a few weeks ago, but now RDW, the Dutch regulator and European authority used by Tesla to approve its vehicles for European roads, said that the Autopilot system of Model 3 is not part of the approval:
“At this moment the autopilot is not part of the original Type Approval of the Tesla Model 3,”
The LA Times wrote about the issue sparking worries among Model 3 buyers in Europe who reached out to Electrek.
Tesla says that it’s not an issue and they expect to receive approval any day:
“We are planning to enable Autopilot in Europe beginning next week.”
Model 3’s Autopilot system is the same used in Model S and Model X, which have already been approved by RDW.
Tesla’s latest model simply uses slightly different hardware and RDW needed to test it again to make sure it complies with the local regulations.
A source familiar with the matter said that the tests have been completed and they don’t expect any issue with the approval. It simply needs to be processed.
As we reported yesterday, Tesla already started Model 3 deliveries in Europe, but some delays in processing the first shipment at the port have pushed back some deliveries.
Electrek’s Take
I got maybe 20 emails/tweets about this in just an hour, but I’m being told that’s nothing.
Apparently, just a timing issue and Tesla wanted to start delivering Model 3 vehicles anyway since they have more coming through the port in just a few days.
I expect that this will happen much more often as Tesla pushes increasingly more advanced Autopilot features.
Different regulatory bodies will process them at different speeds and there will definitely more timing issues like this one.