Tesla’s push into Europe’s autonomous driving market is accelerating. The company’s quietly hiring test drivers across six European countries to collect data for its Full Self-Driving system. Job openings appeared in Prague, Budapest, Berlin, Prüm, Denmark, and Spain by November 2025. These positions require EU driver’s licenses with clean driving records and one-year fixed-term contracts.
Tesla quietly expands autonomous driving ambitions across Europe, hiring test drivers in six countries to refine its Full Self-Driving system.
The vehicle operators will capture high-quality driving data to improve Tesla’s autonomous technology. They’ll drive vehicles in specific areas, create daily reports, and analyze the information collected. Tesla’s testing focuses on FSD Version 13 and newer variants on the AI4 platform. The company’s leveraging millions of miles driven in the US to modify its system to European driving conditions, including roundabouts and different road layouts. FSD v14.1.7 was released in November 2025 as part of software update 2025.38.8.7, demonstrating ongoing refinements to the system.
Tesla’s already demonstrated the technology across Europe. The company ran FSD demonstrations in Amsterdam on April 5, 2025, and Paris on May 16, 2025. These public tests showed the system operating in real-world European cities. The hiring of vehicle operators is positioned as a signal for an imminent FSD launch in Europe.
Regulatory progress is clearing the path forward. Norway granted Tesla a two-year exemption to test FSD Supervised on public roads in 2025, initially limited to company employees. The data gathered from these Norwegian test operations will support Tesla’s broader European approval strategy. The European Commission classifies autonomous driving as a high-risk AI application, but that hasn’t stopped testing. A UNECE voting round on cross-border traffic regulations is scheduled for May 12, 2025.
Tesla faces stiff competition in Europe. Chinese startups WeRide and Pony.AI are developing autonomous systems. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Mobileye are all pursuing their own autonomous driving solutions. Mercedes-Benz already launched L3 autonomy in Germany during 2024. Waymo and Cruise have accumulated substantially more real-world data in San Francisco than Tesla has collected across its EU testing sites. Tesla customers who require complex vehicle repairs may still need to visit traditional service centers while the company expands its mobile service capabilities.
The big question remains: Is Europe ready for full self-driving cars? Regulators are cautious but gradually opening doors. Tesla’s aggressive hiring and testing suggest the company believes the technology is nearly ready. Whether European authorities will approve widespread rollout remains uncertain, but Tesla’s clearly betting it’ll happen soon.