8 in 10 Teslas on Korean Roads Cannot Use FSD

Eight out of 10 Tesla vehicles operating in South Korea cannot use supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD), an autonomous driving feature that requires the driver to continuously monitor road conditions and intervene immediately when necessary. According to an analysis by CarisYou Data Research Institute, of the 229,311 Teslas on Korean roads as of August, only 47,458 were FSD-capable, or 20.7%. The Model Y, Tesla's flagship vehicle, saw just 9.6% of its units eligible for the feature. However, this figure reflects the number of vehicles capable of using the feature, not actual usage.

Behind the gap lies the place of production. FSD is available only on some U.S.-built vehicles and is not applied to China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The U.S.-built vehicles were imported to Korea under a special exemption recognizing U.S. auto safety standards under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Even for the same model, feature availability varies depending on the production site and certification route.

Tesla released FSD V14 Light, which also works on vehicles with the older HW3 hardware, in Korea on July 10. But eligibility was limited to U.S.-built Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with the FSD option activated. While software support has broadened, it has not been extended to China-made vehicles.

In Europe, discussions are underway to expand FSD use across the entire European Union, beyond country-by-country approvals. According to Reuters, eight EU member states, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, have individually approved FSD. But approval by individual member states does not mean EU-wide use is permitted. Disagreements remain over the EU-level vote. Germany supports swift approval, while France, Sweden, and others have raised safety concerns. Reuters reported that the vote, initially expected in October, will take place in December at the earliest.

The Netherlands, the first to approve, evaluated FSD for more than a year and a half at test facilities and on public roads before granting approval in April. The Dutch vehicle authority RDW has strengthened the manufacturer's mandatory reporting cycle from annually to monthly to review operational and safety data since the approval. RDW said it can demand further investigations or action from the manufacturer based on its analysis.

Meanwhile, Seo Young-deuk, CEO of Tesla Korea, was adopted as a witness at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit on October 8 to address safety issues concerning driver assistance systems.