When will autonomous driving be allowed in Taiwan? Tesla FSD review is expected to deliver results as early as the end of this year

The Vehicle Safety Verification Center Foundation (Vehicle Safety Center) released an announcement on July 9, explaining the review status of Tesla Taiwan’s application for FSD (Supervised):

The case is currently in the “Road Test Plan Review” stage. The center will hold a technical review meeting soon, prioritizing whether the test plan can verify Taiwan-specific traffic scenarios. Based on the timetable estimates inferred from discussions in the Legislative Yuan, if each stage connects smoothly, FSD may have the earliest chance to complete the verification and be opened to use by Taiwan car owners by the end of 2026.

(Background: Tesla FSD Taiwan officially submitted! Sales of the one-time purchase model were stopped on 6/30; the subscription monthly fee is estimated at NT$3,000; review has entered the technical committee stage)
(Additional background: Can Taiwan really not wait for Tesla’s FSD automatic driving? A Legislative Yuan discussion lays out the current situation)

Table of contents

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• What did the rare announcement say? Now it’s at the first stage
• How long does review usually take? The first two stages take about a month and a half
• Which experts will attend the technical review meeting?
• How long will each stage take? Fastest by end of year, conservatively by first half of next year

An administrative notice posted on the Vehicle Safety Center’s official website has surpassed 10,000 views in just a few days. For a foundation that, on ordinary days, only publishes regulatory explanations and documentation on verification procedures, this is an unusually high number—because the Vehicle Safety Center rarely issues public announcements specifically for “a submission case from a single automaker.” This time, however, it has unusually provided a dedicated explanation of the status of Tesla Taiwan’s FSD (Full Self-Driving, Supervised) application, indirectly confirming how intensely people in Taiwan are paying attention to the timeline for autonomous driving to be opened.

What did the rare announcement say? Now it’s at the first stage

In its July 9 announcement, the Vehicle Safety Center confirmed that it has accepted Tesla Taiwan’s application submitted under the “Regulations for Application Supplementary Work on New Technology Driving System Review.” The operator is required to submit a “Declaration of Domestic Road Environment Applicability and Related Safety Verification Test Report.” The entire review process is divided into four stages: the first stage is where the operator submits a road test plan (this is where the current case stands); the second stage is after the review is completed, when the operator requests approval from the Ministry of Transportation, then the operator proceeds with road testing; the third stage is after the operator completes the testing, submitting the safety verification report for review; and finally, only after the final approval passes will it issue the certificate confirming that type safety verification has met the requirements.

In other words, after Tesla formally submitted the paperwork on June 16, the case has already moved into the first stage among the four stages. In the announcement, the center emphasized it will convene a “technical review meeting,” prioritizing an examination of whether the test plan can verify “my country’s unique traffic scenarios” and other localized conditions, and also reviewing functional safety, road applicability, and regulatory alignment. Compared with Taiwan’s high-density mixed traffic flows of motorcycles, narrow alleys, and traffic-signal designs unique to Taiwan, this is precisely the portion that cannot be directly transplanted from the validation data accumulated in Europe and the U.S.

The Vehicle Safety Center stated that it will conduct the review with a “rigorous, objective, and scientific” attitude. While balancing industry innovation and road-user safety, it will proceed prudently; the review timeline depends on the operator’s testing progress and how the meetings are handled.

How long does review usually take? The first two stages take about a month and a half

The Vehicle Safety Center did not commit to a timetable in the announcement, but the “standard rhythm” of the review was already laid out before the submission. According to meeting minutes of the “Discussion on Advancing Self-Driving Technology Landing in Taiwan and the FSD Verification Process,” convened by Legislator Ko Ju-lun on June 10 with the Ministry of Transportation’s Department of Public Transportation and Supervision and the Vehicle Safety Center, after the manufacturer formally submits the paperwork, the center will, in principle, convene the first technical review meeting within 2 to 4 weeks to review the application documents and the road test plan. If the preliminary review is feasible, it will request approval from the Ministry of Transportation; the approval process from the time it is submitted to the ministry is completed in about 2 weeks, and then road testing will immediately begin. That means, from submission to “approval for on-road testing,” the institutional standard duration is about one to one and a half months.

It is also noteworthy that this review does not require amending laws. At the same meeting, the Ministry of Transportation explained that FSD (Supervised) is an SAE Level 2 driver-assistance technology; the driver must still monitor the system at all times and remains fully responsible. Therefore, it can proceed with pre-verification and road testing directly through existing administrative regulations. Only if Level 3 or higher involves responsibility transfer would there be a need for legal amendments. In addition, the Ministry of Transportation has already accepted the Netherlands RDW’s national-level certification results for Tesla’s FSD as a reference basis for technical feasibility, without waiting for the EU’s final voting schedule. This reduces a major portion of duplicate verification work during the document review stage. The Ministry of Transportation also coordinated in advance on May 27 with the Expressway Engineering Bureau and the Highway Bureau to arrange testing support for national highways and expressways, so that after submission there would not be a need to start from zero.

The real variable lies in the road testing itself. The Vehicle Safety Center has made it clear that the review period depends on the operator’s “testing progress.” How long the testing runs, how many miles are driven, and which scenarios are covered depend on the test plan content approved by the technical review meeting—this is currently the most flexible segment in the entire timeline.

Which experts will attend the technical review meeting?

The Vehicle Safety Center’s announcement only said it would invite “relevant agencies and experts” to convene the technical review meeting and did not publish a list. However, judging from the review targets (functional safety, road applicability, regulatory alignment, localized scenario verification) and domestic vehicle verification practices, the advisory and review experts are expected to cover the following areas:

• Vehicle engineering and functional safety: Academics and representatives from verification organizations familiar with ISO 26262 (functional safety) and SOTIF (safety of intended functionality). They will be responsible for examining safety mechanisms when the system fails
• Traffic engineering and road safety: Assess whether the test plan covers Taiwan’s unique scenarios—mixed motorcycle traffic, roadside temporary parking, bus-only lanes, and complex intersections. This is a prioritized item explicitly mentioned in the announcement
• Artificial intelligence and perception systems: Examine the reliability of pure-vision solutions under Taiwan road lane markings, traffic signals, and weather conditions
• Cybersecurity: Align with UN R155/R156 vehicle network security and software update (OTA) regulations. The FSD function is delivered via OTA
• Human factors engineering and regulatory framework: Assess whether the driver monitoring mechanism (DMS) can ensure drivers maintain attention, and whether regulations covering accident responsibility, insurance, and penalties align

On the competent authority side, it is expected that the Ministry of Transportation’s Department of Public Transportation and Supervision, the Highway Bureau, the Freeway Bureau, and other units will attend, each corresponding to their respective responsibilities for regulatory interpretation and management of testing road segments.

How long will each stage take? Fastest by end of year, conservatively by first half of next year

Based on the four-stage process revealed in the announcement, the standard timeline established through Legislative Yuan discussions, and the reasonable testing window, the schedule for each stage could be estimated as follows:

• Technical review meeting (mid to late July): Tesla submitted on June 16; following the 2 to 4 week norm, the first meeting should be held sometime in July. The Vehicle Safety Center’s announcement also confirmed it will be handled “soon”
• Ministry filing for testing plan approval (early August): After the preliminary review passes, it takes about 2 weeks to submit to and obtain approval from the Ministry of Transportation. If the plan requires additional documents and revisions, it will be delayed
• Road testing (about August to November): Estimated to take around 3 months, requiring enough localized validation data accumulated across national highways, expressways, and urban roads. This is the stage with the greatest flexibility across the entire process
• Safety verification report review and issuance of the certificate (about 1 to 2 months): The testing report is submitted back to the technical review meeting for review. After passing, it will be approved by the ministry and the certificate for type safety verification approval will be issued

Connecting these four stages: if the test plan passes on the first attempt and the road testing goes smoothly, FSD could be expected to complete verification as early as December 2026, followed by OTA delivery to Taiwan car owners. If any stage requires supplementary materials or expanding the scope of testing, the timeline would shift to the first half of 2027. Tesla’s move starting July 1 to stop selling the one-time FSD purchase option and switch to a subscription model has also been interpreted by the market as preparing for the business model after opening.

For consumers, what matters more than “when it will open” is “how it will be opened.” FSD (Supervised) is a Level 2 driver-assistance feature, not autonomous driving. Drivers may temporarily take their hands off the steering wheel, but legal responsibility is not reduced in any way. This rare announcement from the Vehicle Safety Center—rather than just being a progress update—seems to use the surge in attention (over 10,000 views) to clearly explain to the public how the review process will proceed. The next key milestone is whether the first technical review meeting in July will approve the testing plan.