Tesla FSD Supervised Testing Officially Begins in Abu Dhabi

Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology has arrived in the Middle East. On February 26, 2026, Tesla's official Europe, Middle East & Africa account confirmed that road trials of FSD Supervised have commenced in Abu Dhabi — the first time the software has been tested on UAE public roads.

The announcement is brief but significant. Tesla rarely telegraphs regional testing milestones in advance — when the official EMEA account posts, it's a signal that the regulatory groundwork is already in place and wheels are literally turning on Abu Dhabi roads.

📊 Key Figures

How These Trials Are Structured

This is not a consumer launch. FSD Supervised road trials in Abu Dhabi operate within an officially approved regulatory framework, overseen by the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) and supported by the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council, in coordination with the Legislation Lab at the General Secretariat of the UAE Cabinet.

The core requirement mirrors how Tesla operates FSD Supervised everywhere else: an active, attentive driver must remain in the seat at all times, ready to intervene. The technology assists with steering, braking, lane changes, urban navigation, and parking — but the driver retains legal responsibility. This is a data-gathering and safety-verification exercise, not a sign that unsupervised robotaxi service is imminent in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

The objective, according to verified reporting, is for local authorities to assess how the software handles Abu Dhabi's specific road environment before considering any broader deployment approval. Abu Dhabi's road network presents a distinct set of challenges: high-speed multi-lane highways, complex interchange geometry, intense sun glare, and road markings that differ from North American or European standards. Real-world performance data collected here will feed directly into Tesla's case for wider regional approval.

🔭 The BASENOR Take

When Elon Musk said in December 2025 that FSD could arrive in the UAE as early as January 2026, some read it as an imminent consumer launch. What actually happened is more realistic and, frankly, more sustainable: a structured trial program with government oversight started about two months later. That's not a miss — that's how responsible technology deployment in a new regulatory jurisdiction works.

The more important signal here is geographic momentum. Tesla already holds FSD Supervised approvals across North America and has been expanding into Europe. South Korea received FSD, and Australia and most other global markets are running on FSD v13. The UAE — and Abu Dhabi specifically — joining the testing map suggests the EMEA team has successfully navigated the UAE's regulatory framework, which is no small feat given how stringent autonomous vehicle legislation can be in Gulf states.

For existing Tesla owners in the UAE who have been watching from the sidelines, this is the moment the clock officially starts. The path from structured trial to supervised consumer access is not linear, and there's no hard date on the table. But trials have to start somewhere, and they've started. Follow our FSD coverage as this story develops in the coming weeks.

📰 Deep Dive

Abu Dhabi is a strategically smart location for Tesla's first Middle Eastern FSD trial. As the UAE's capital and a city with significant infrastructure investment, it has both the governmental apparatus to manage a structured technology trial and the road network to provide meaningful data. The Integrated Transport Centre's involvement also means there's a direct channel between Tesla's trial data and policymakers who could accelerate or restrict further deployment.

The timing relative to Musk's December 2025 comments is worth noting. He indicated January 2026 as a possible launch window for FSD in the UAE. The actual commencement of trials came in late February — slightly behind that optimistic marker, but well within the realm of normal regulatory timelines. This pattern is consistent with how Tesla has approached FSD expansion in other jurisdictions: public statements set directional intent, while actual deployment follows the pace of regulatory dialogue.

What the Abu Dhabi trial does not tell us yet: which FSD version is running, how many vehicles are involved, or what the specific pass/fail criteria are for the local authorities. Those details will emerge as the trial matures. What it does confirm unambiguously is that Tesla and UAE regulators have reached enough mutual agreement to put FSD Supervised vehicles on public roads — and that is the critical hurdle that every other international expansion has had to clear first.