Tesla Lied To EU Regulators With Misleading FSD Data: Report

Happy Monday! It's June 15, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking at Tesla's EU safety data, and U.S. EV sales numbers. We'll also look at Renault's dreams of military contracts, and the end of the axle-maker strike. 

Tesla wants to get FSD on EU roads, but the company is facing a problem: Roads in Europe are actually regulated, unlike our American wild west. Tesla's solution? Just lie to the regulators,  according to Reuters:

In its efforts to secure European approval of its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) system, Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab has presented self-published safety statistics to regulators in Sweden and the Netherlands that independent traffic-safety researchers have said amount to misleading marketing.

A Reuters examination published last month found that Tesla ​CEO Elon Musk and other leaders over the past year have increasingly cited statistics they say prove its FSD driver-assistance feature is up to 10 times safer than human drivers. But the ‌news agency's review found several invalid data comparisons underlying Tesla's statistics that exaggerated its safety claims.

Tesla has presented the inflated safety data to some European regulators, according to correspondence obtained by Reuters through public records requests, as the EV maker seeks wider approval of FSD in a region where it is trying to regain market share. Tesla approached RDW, the Dutch road regulator, in late 2024 to begin the FSD approval process.

In a November 2024 letter to RDW, Tesla provided a link to its safety report and claimed "increased usage" of FSD "leads to ​safer roads." Tesla charges a monthly subscription for FSD, which can drive itself under certain circumstances but requires the human driver to pay attention.

After more than a year of testing and discussions with Tesla, RDW in ​April approved FSD for use in the Netherlands. The Dutch regulator is now seeking EU-wide approval on behalf of Tesla.

I have to admit, it's an elegant solution. If your software doesn't work, just tell people it does. Unfortunately for Tesla, someone bothered to double-check. 

EV sales in the U.S. have been sliding ever downward since the tax credit was revoked, but analysts say we may have found the floor. That, or the whole war in Iran thing is boosting gas prices to the point where people are buying EVs. From Automotive News: 

U.S. electric vehicle registrations are recovering from the loss of federal tax credits, with April's 9.8 percent decline marking the smallest year-over-year drop so far this year and a signal the market is stabilizing.

U.S. new EV registrations fell to 89,147 in April compared with the same month a year ago, according to S&P Global Mobility. Yet that's the highest tally of 2026.

The number of new EVs registered fell 25 percent in March, 37 percent in February and 41 percent in January.

...

"We're seeing gradual inching up, and I think we'll continue to see that," said Tom Libby, an automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility.

I hope that the U.S. market has a high floor for EV sales, because I like breathable air and drinkable water, but I understand not everyone shares those priorities. Some simply want to deliver value for shareholders, and they may be happy to see EV sales keep falling. 

Ford wants to get into the military contracting business, and it's not the only automaker with such dreams. Now Renault is on the list too, looking to make drones and vehicles for war. From the Wall Street Journal:

France's Renault and Thales have partnered to produce a prototype of a tactical vehicle for land forces, as automakers gear up to collaborate with defense suppliers to play a larger role in weapons production.

The companies on Monday unveiled the 4 Troop, a multi-role civil vehicle equipped with data-processing capabilities, integrated systems to operate unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, and decision aids enabled by artificial intelligence.

The vehicle aims to make new capabilities available to the armed forces to support land-forces missions in France and overseas, Renault and Thales said. The companies said it would be possible to move the vehicle to series production for rapid deployment at optimum cost by combining the industrial strengths of the two companies.

Surely it's a good sign for the economy that budget automakers are looking to buoy their profits with military contracts. That can only mean good things in the future for normal folks' ability to buy cars. 

At the beginning of the month, 1,000 workers at a plant that makes axles for GM and Stellantis walked off the assembly lines. They were on strike, and now it seems they've won — the strike is off, and the unit members got their improved working conditions. From Automotive News: 

Members of a local UAW unit voted to ratify a new contract with Dauch Corp., ending a two-week strike at the automotive axle supplier's factory in Three Rivers.

Union-represented workers at Local 2093 voted 704-173 to accept the tentative deal reached with Dauch, Josh Jager, bargaining chair for Local 2093 confirmed to Crain's. The deal comes with substantial gains in wages and benefits.

Around 1,000 members walked out of the American Axle plant June 1, putting production at risk for General Motors Co., the supplier's largest customer, as well as Stellantis and others. Union workers are back on the job following ratification of the deal.

If you've ever wanted a raise, join a union. 

Technically, it's a border crossing.

We're nearly back down under $4! It's very convenient that these drops we've seen have nothing to do with the U.S. rapidly dumping its strategic petroleum reserve. That would suck. 

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