Finland may approve Tesla's supervised self-driving software before EU vote

HELSINKI, June 23 (Reuters) - Finland may approve Tesla's self-driving assistance system earlier than a European Union-wide decision expected in October, the country's transport authority said on Tuesday.

The Netherlands in April became the first European country to grant provisional approval for Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, in a first step towards a potential EU-wide rollout if backed by a qualified majority of member states.

Estonia and Belgium are among countries that have since allowed the technology, which allows cars to steer themselves, though some regulators have expressed caution about it.

• "An EU-wide solution can be expected in October 2026. However, Traficom is prepared to proceed on a faster schedule after the summer if the necessary additional information has been obtained on the key areas of assessment," the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) said in a statement.

• It said it is assessing how quickly drivers can retake control, overtaking in low-visibility conditions on Finnish roads, and the system's speed offset feature, over which neighbouring Sweden and Norway have raised concerns.

• The EU-wide committee vote is expected in October, with the next member state discussion on June 30.

• Traficom said its overall view of the system was positive.

• Around 6,500 cars in Finland are equipped with the system, equal to roughly 0.24% of the country's 2.7 million passenger vehicles.

• As Tesla's FSD requires human supervision it is not considered fully autonomous, but Traficom said genuine self-driving vehicles may appear on Finnish roads as early as 2028.

• Reuters reported in May that Finland is among a number of European countries Tesla approached after the Dutch approval, asking if they would be willing to follow suit.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto and Marie Mannes, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Alexander Smith)