The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has asked Tesla to provide detailed information about how it self-certified its autonomous Cybercab robotaxi. The agency has given the company until September 30 to respond as part of an ongoing investigation.
NHTSA wants Tesla to clarify whether temporarily installed human driver controls or other equipment were used as the basis for certifying the Cybercab’s compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
The regulator is also examining the process and technical data Tesla used to demonstrate compliance before deploying the robotaxi. Among its questions, NHTSA has asked whether the Cybercab can be driven by a human and whether its touchscreen includes controls that allow occupants to move the vehicle.
Tesla must also provide information on the robotaxi’s maximum speed, geographical and time-of-day limits, and other operational restrictions.
Tesla and other robotaxi companies, including Google’s Waymo, have supported plans by US President Donald Trump’s administration to change regulations covering autonomous vehicles. The proposed changes could allow vehicles without steering wheels, brake pedals, rear-view mirrors and other equipment designed for human drivers to operate on US roads.
Critics of the proposed changes have argued that such requirements should not be waived until autonomous vehicle companies demonstrate that the technology is safe.
On September 3, Tesla began commercial deployment of a small number of 2-seat Cybercabs in Austin, Texas. The company said it planned to gradually expand the service to additional vehicles and locations.
NHTSA said the Cybercab does not have conventional manual controls, including a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal or mirrors.
In June, NHTSA proposed ending a government requirement for manual brake pedals in self-driving vehicles. The agency has also proposed other changes to federal safety standards to accommodate autonomous vehicles without conventional human-driver equipment. However, existing standards remain in force until those changes are finalised.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under current law, fully self-driving vehicles do not need NHTSA approval if they have steering wheels, brake pedals, mirrors and other features used in human-controlled vehicles. NHTSA can also grant petitions allowing up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer each year to operate without required human controls.
In July, NHTSA approved Amazon’s Zoox unit for limited commercial deployment of steering-wheel-free robotaxis, marking the first such approval for the autonomous ride industry.
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