Tesla has secured regulatory approval to begin testing its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system in urban traffic in Sweden, marking a key step toward launching the technology in Europe.
Sweden’s transport authority has authorised Tesla to test FSD (Supervised) version 14 within the municipality of Nacka, east of central Stockholm, allowing the system to operate on public city streets under supervision. The approval extends Tesla’s testing scope beyond controlled-access highways and into dense urban traffic for the first time in the country.
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The decision follows a milestone reached in October, when the Swedish Transport Administration granted Tesla permission to test FSD on state highways and expressways. With Nacka now included, Tesla can evaluate the system in environments involving intersections, pedestrians, cyclists and mixed traffic flows.
Nacka’s participation is significant as Stockholm City had previously denied Tesla permission to conduct similar trials. The municipality becomes the first in Sweden to allow testing of the system on its local road network.
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“The approval shows that cooperation between authorities, municipalities and businesses enables technological leaps, and Nacka Municipality is the first to become part of the transport system of the future,” Tesla said in a statement cited by Elbil. “Testing the driving of the future on Swedish roads is an important step toward autonomy in real everyday traffic.”
Tesla has highlighted Sweden as a valuable proving ground due to Europe’s narrower roads, varied signage, frequent roundabouts and dense urban layouts, combined with winter conditions and strict traffic rules. These factors present challenges that the company must address ahead of any broader European rollout.
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The Swedish approval aligns with Tesla’s wider regulatory timeline. The company has repeatedly said it is targeting early 2026 for an initial launch of FSD (Supervised) for European customers, subject to regulatory clearance. Chief Executive Elon Musk reiterated that goal recently, saying Tesla hopes to secure additional approvals in the coming months.
While the authorisation is limited to supervised testing, industry analysts view urban trials as a necessary step toward broader deployment in Europe’s tightly regulated automotive markets.
