As Kees Roelandschap navigates down the narrow canal-side streets of Amsterdam, flanked by the city's many bicycle riders, it takes a second to realise what's different: he doesn't have his hands on the wheel of his dark grey Tesla.

The U.S. electric carmaker on April 10 gained a surprise approval in the Netherlands for its supervised full self-driving (FSD) system, in a European first for city streets that could open the door for more near autonomous vehicles in Europe.

It's divided opinion. Enthusiasts like Roelandschap hail it as a breakthrough and even safer than regular driving, while some cyclists and politicians are mixed between caution and optimism as the cars start to hit the country's winding roads.

Roelandschap told Reuters that being able to use his Tesla on self-driving mode in the Netherlands felt “unreal”.

He added that the software should be approved everywhere in Europe as he is convinced it will lead to increased safety on roads and ultimately to less fatal accidents.

Tesla's FSD system can steer, brake and accelerate without hands on the wheel, though a driver must remain attentive and ready to intervene. The European Union is due in May to discuss approving the technology, under investigation for safety concerns in the U.S., throughout Europe.

On Amsterdam’s streets, where trams, trucks and big cars like Teslas share space with dense flows of bikes, cargo bikes, e-bikes, hefty "fatbikes" and a growing fleet of tiny e-cars, reactions were mixed.

Esther van Garderen, head of the Dutch Cyclists’ Union, said the Netherlands presents a unique challenge to self-driving software, adding that she expected drivers to over-rely on the technology while paying less attention to the road.

Road traffic deaths in the Netherlands increased 6% to 759 in 2025, with car-cyclist and car-pedestrian crashes driving the increase, according to government statistics agency CBS.

The rollout comes as Tesla bets on driver-assistance software to revive slowing European sales, dented by CEO Elon Musk's conservative political rhetoric that has alienated some consumers. Tesla is the most popular electric car in the Netherlands, with around 100,000 of its Model 3 and Model Y cars on the roads.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (APRIL 17, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA OWNER AND ENTHUSIAST, KEES ROELANDSCHAP, SAYING:

"And there are multiple road users in here. And in the legislation, they call it vulnerable road users, bikers, pedestrians, and cyclists. But we have them coming from every direction. And now it will start to move, I hope. Nope, bikers coming. But it was making its intent clear. And now it's going. So this is the regular Amsterdam, as you might know it."

2. VARIOUS OF STEERING WHEEL

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA OWNER AND ENTHUSIAST, KEES ROELANDSCHAP, SAYING:

"To be able to experience it firsthand here in the Netherlands, that's unreal, because I've been waiting for this moment ever since Autonomy Day in 2019, where (Tesla CEO) Elon (Musk) said this is going to come, and the moment's finally here. So for me, it's... I like I'm smiling every single time when I'm in the car."

GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY (FILE - MARCH 22, 2022) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. TESLA CEO ELON MUSK DANCING NEXT TO TESLA CARS

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (APRIL 17, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. ROELANDSCHAP IN SELF-DRIVING TESLA CAR

6. VARIOUS OF INSTA360 CAMERA SHOWING CAR DRIVING

7. TESLA DRIVING

8. VARIOUS OF CARS, BIKES AND PEOPLE ON AMSTERDAM STREETS

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA OWNER AND ENTHUSIAST, KEES ROELANDSCHAP, SAYING:

"I think this should be approved everywhere in Europe because it will lead to increased safety, and I think that's the most important thing of all. Because the amount of people that die every year in road accidents... It could be lowered, it should be lowered, because it makes absolutely no sense for people to die in something mundane as driving."

10. ROELANDSCHAP OPERATING TESLA'S SCREEN

11. ROELANDSCHAP IN SELF-DRIVING TESLA CAR

12. STEERING WHEEL

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA OWNER AND ENTHUSIAST, KEES ROELANDSCHAP, SAYING AS DEMONSTRATING HOW SELF-DRIVING SOFTWARE RECOGNISES IF DRIVER IS NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ROAD:

"It will start to beep. See? A 'hold' signal to drive manually. It's still on autopilot, and it's now coming to a stop, and puts on the lights."

14. VARIOUS OF CARS, BIKES AND PEOPLE ON AMSTERDAM STREETS

15. DIRECTOR OF DUTCH CYCLISTS' UNION, ESTHER VAN GARDEREN, RIDING BIKE

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF DUTCH CYCLISTS' UNION, ESTHER VAN GARDEREN, SAYING:

"Our concerns with the self-driving cars, letting them into the public space in the Netherlands, is that we have quite a unique traffic system in the world where all these cyclists are... Floating through the traffic system, and they are swarming around and going from the left to the right and cross each other. And we are not fully assured that these self-driving cars will understand the behaviour of Dutch cyclists, which is quite unique and complex."

17. GARDEREN SPEAKING TO JOURNALIST

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF DUTCH CYCLISTS' UNION, ESTHER VAN GARDEREN, SAYING:

"But this system is somewhere between self-driving cars because you stay responsible and you're not allowed to go on your phone or do other things. But hey, if you have this car driving for you, we expect that everybody's going to do something else in the car and not look at what's happening on the streets. So I'm not fully convinced that this in-between step is the right way to go."

19. ROELANDSCHAP OPERATING TESLA'S SCREEN

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA OWNER AND ENTHUSIAST, KEES ROELANDSCHAP, SAYING:

"I have yet to notice or encounter a difficult road situation here. We have a lot of bikers trying to overtake us. We have bikers coming towards us. We have bikers coming from the left. What's the dangerous thing here?"

21. AMSTERDAM CYCLIST, PAUL TEN CATE, STANDING NEXT TO HIS BIKE

22. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMSTERDAM CYCLIST, PAUL TEN CATE, SAYING:

"Yeah, I think the safety will be much better because the cars will keep their distance, and etc. And I think they will see bikers, for instance, here in Amsterdam. I think that it will be much nicer for bikers to have self-driving cars."

23. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMSTERDAM CYCLIST, NINA SMILJANIC, SAYING:

"I think in general it could be convenient, right? I also think it could be safe. I think especially on a highway, you know, because that's more, I don't know, everyone going the same direction and maybe you can also, I don't know, with a computer it interacts a bit better. But maybe here in the streets with all the tourists, I think the AI model still needs to adapt to all the crazy things they do. So hopefully it's tested enough so that it will be safe. So I think maybe in America and on the highway it's safe, but here, I don't know, I'm not convinced yet."

24. SMILJANIC RIDING AWAY WITH HIS DOG