US agency orders Tesla to answer questions on Cybercab certification
The agency gave Tesla until September 30 to justify the driverless vehicle’s compliance, with penalties of up to $139 million for incomplete answers.
- On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a Special Order requiring Tesla to prove under oath that its steering-wheelless Cybercab complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards by September 30.
- Hours after Tesla began commercial Cybercab service in Austin on September 3, NHTSA opened Audit Query 26002 to scrutinize the vehicle's self-certified safety compliance.
- Signed by NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser, the order contains 21 detailed requests and threatens penalties of up to $139 million if Tesla fails to answer fully and truthfully.
- Unlike Tesla's self-certification approach, NHTSA granted Amazon's Zoox an exemption for driverless pods, establishing a formal regulatory pathway the automaker has notably bypassed.
- Federal safety mandates currently require manufacturers to prove compliance, creating friction with NHTSA's stated intent to modernize standards for driverless designs through future policy updates.
39 Articles
39 Articles
NHTSA investigates how Tesla certified the Cybercab, a robotaxi without steering wheel or pedals, and contemplates a possible sanction of $139 million
Tesla has trouble with the US traffic control after the start of its robotic taxi Cybercab without a steering wheel and pedals. In a question catalogue, the NHTSA refers among other things to the rule that vehicles in U.S. road traffic must have a foot-operated brake – and wants to know how a cybercab without pedals can comply with this safety rule.
The U.S. Traffic Safety Agency refers to the rule that all vehicles must have a foot-operated brake. Up to $139 million will be punished.
By the end of September, Tesla will still be able to answer the question list of the NHTSA authority. Penalties of up to $139 million threaten to be violated.
Tesla's Cybercab Faces Federal Scrutiny: Can a Wheel-Less Robotaxi Legally Hit the Road?
NHTSA has ordered Tesla to explain under oath how its wheel-less, pedal-less Cybercab complies with federal safety standards written for human drivers. With a September 30 deadline and fines up to $139 million at stake, the probe tests the limits of self-certification for autonomous vehicles. The outcome could reshape robotaxi deployment nationwide.
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