France has said that Tesla’s (TSLA) Full Self-Driving (FSD) system does not yet meet the country’s safety standards for approval, citing concerns over speeding, driver attention, and performance in complex urban environments.

The development comes just hours before Tesla’s second-quarter results, with  edging 0.3% lower after posting losses in four of the past five trading sessions.

France Flags Risks Over Speeding, Driver Attention

In an official video on France’s Agora platform, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said that while Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system offers significant technological progress, its safety benefits are not yet sufficient to justify authorization.

He emphasized that FSD is not a fully autonomous driving system and that drivers remain legally responsible for the vehicle at all times.

“First, we observed that the system allows for speeding. If it detects that the vehicles around it are traveling faster, it can, in other words, drive at 70 km/h instead of 50 km/h if traffic is moving at that speed, and this without any explicit request from the driver,” Tabarot said.

“Another example: according to the data we have, the system cannot guarantee optimal driver attention in urban areas and during the most complex maneuvers, such as lane changes, intersections, or roundabouts,” the minister added.

The minister said France is continuing technical discussions with Tesla, the Netherlands, and other European countries to further evaluate the technology.

Emphasis On Support For Autonomous Driving Technologies

Despite withholding approval for FSD, Tabarot stressed that France supports advanced driver assistance and autonomous vehicle technologies, provided they meet strict safety standards.

He said the country aims to enable certified autonomous vehicles by 2027 and is working with 17 European countries to harmonize regulations through the European Autonomous Vehicle Test Site initiative.

Europe’s Stance On FSD

In April, the Dutch regulator RDW granted FSD (Supervised) a provisional approval, allowing the system to operate on all roads in the Netherlands, and informed the European Commission of its intention to support broader European adoption.

The RDW said it will not release detailed test results because of commercial confidentiality rules, while Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, and Lithuania have already issued similar provisional approvals and Finland and Greece are considering doing the same.

An EU-wide rollout requires support by a qualified majority of 15 of the bloc’s ‌27 member ⁠states. A vote is not expected before October, according to a report by Reuters.

What Is Retail’s Take On TSLA Ahead Of Earnings?

Meanwhile, retail sentiment remained in the ‘bullish’ territory ahead of the quarterly results, with users expecting the stock to climb past $410 if the results are positive.

However, another user described the chart ahead of earnings as “one of the most uncertain setups” seen in a while.

The stock has shed nearly 14% so far this year and has outperformed only Microsoft (MSFT) in the Magnificent 7 (MAGS) cohort.

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