With the official opening of the Gigafactory in Grünheide near Berlin, Tesla is now also a German car manufacturer – and at almost the same time the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) announced that the company would have to take a closer look at its software updates in the future . Among other things, the head of the authority said in an interview on the day before the Gigafactory launch that she would not accept Tesla starting a beta test of its autopilot system only for selected testers, as in the USA.
KBA boss threatens Tesla ban
In the USA, the beta test with the autopilot software known as FSD has been running since autumn 2020. The first participants were apparently selected individually. Since September 2021, you can also qualify using a safety score (see photo) that was introduced specifically for this purpose. end of January Tesla called the number of almost 60,000 beta testers. The next country to receive the FSD software is Canada. That was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk this week at the Delivery Day for the first German Model Y in Gruenheide. He also took the opportunity to say that beta testing should start in the EU this year – if regulators allow it.
According to reports from other media, it does not look like that, at least in Germany, as KBA President Richard Damm revealed in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung one day before Delivery Day. Regarding the tester selection using the safety score, he said that an automation system must be so safe and robust that it works regardless of the driver’s skill. If this is not the case, the question arises as to whether such a procedure is desirable in road traffic. One can imagine the answer to this quotes golem.de from the SZ interview.
Tesla does not currently receive its approvals for Germany from the KBA, but for the entire EU area from the Dutch authority RDW. But as President Damm further said according to golem.de of the SZ, the German office wants to be informed in the future at least more precisely about other software updates from Tesla. So far, this exchange with the company is said to have proved difficult, but the KBA has leverage: without information from the manufacturer, the authority cannot rule out that a system violates rules, explained Damm. As possible consequences he mentioned a fine and, in extreme cases, a ban on the operation.
Even today’s autopilot not allowed?
At his previous appearance on the Gigafactory site in Grünheide last October, Tesla CEO Musk said that Hopefully Europe will get the FSD software in 2022, and not just as a beta version. He was a little more cautious on Tuesday’s Delivery Day: Musk said that the transfer to Europe was technically difficult because there were many subtle differences in traffic rules and design from country to country. On the other hand, the EU differs in that, unlike in the USA, Tesla has to obtain approval for the FSD test in advance.
“Pending regulatory approval,” Musk said, it may begin later this year. But if Tesla takes the route via RDW and does not answer questions from the KBA, at least the beta software could quickly be banned again in Germany. Because at the end of February it was reported that the German authorities already consider the lane change function in the current autopilot system to be illegal and are communicating with RDW in the Netherlands and Tesla.