Tesla Officially Enters Vietnam

This is interpreted as Tesla's official declaration of intent to directly enter the Vietnamese market and conduct business operations.

Currently, the registered business scope does not include local assembly or factory construction.

This growth is largely driven by the government's EV registration tax exemption policy, which has been extended until February 2027.

Local Vietnamese company VinFast has dominated the market by ceasing internal combustion engine vehicle production in 2022 and focusing solely on electric vehicles. In 2025, VinFast sold over 170,000 electric vehicles in Vietnam, achieving a 42% share of new car sales as of August 2026.

Furthermore, VinFast has built a charging infrastructure with 100,000 ports across Vietnam, securing a decisive competitive advantage.

This is an attempt to secure profitability through a premium brand strategy.

Specifically, it aims to capture demand for imported mid-size SUVs like the Model Y and focus on preempting the local premium EV market.

Vietnam has a complex traffic environment where two-wheelers weave through gaps, signal systems are ambiguous, and pedestrians, street vendors, and oncoming vehicles appear unexpectedly.

Therefore, Vietnam is expected to remain a test bed for data collection for FSD technology development, and the full-scale introduction of FSD is anticipated to be a long-term challenge.

Jernej Vrtovec, Slovenia's Minister of Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister, personally experienced driving through intersections and changing lanes in an FSD vehicle. Deputy Prime Minister Vrtovec stated that this experience affirmed his confidence in FSD's traffic safety and future technology.

He highly praised FSD technology's potential to contribute to reducing traffic congestion and accidents, indicating that the Slovenian government would actively consider introducing robotaxis. These remarks reveal a positive governmental perspective on autonomous driving technology.

It is expected that widespread FSD will reduce driver fatigue and improve driving efficiency, bringing innovation to various fields such as long-distance driving and taxi services. Deputy Prime Minister Vrtovec emphasized that Slovenia is ready to actively embrace such technological advancements.

This demonstrates the potential for Tesla's FSD technology to be gradually accepted in the European market, potentially having a positive impact on future regulatory easing and commercialization.