Autopilot off for new Tesla in Europe

Tesla’s near-term future depends heavily on the reception of its Model 3 in Europe.

But for now, Tesla will have to sell the Model 3 there without Autopilot.

While European safety regulators approved the Model 3 vehicle for sale in Europe in January, they have not approved Autopilot — the driver-assist mode that offers automatic cruise control, lane keeping and lane changing.

“At this moment the autopilot is not part of the original Type Approval of the Tesla Model 3,” Joke Willemsen, spokesman for RDW, the Netherlands-based organization in charge of the Model 3 approval process for Europe, said in an email.

The lack of Autopilot approval — whether a short-term problem or something more serious — complicates the Model 3’s entry into Europe. Tesla already sells its Model S and Model X cars in Europe. Norway is one of the company’s largest markets outside the United States.

The first bulk shipment of Model 3s arrived at the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium last week.