The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance opened an examination of the Tesla Cybercab’s regulatory compliance on Thursday, the same day the two-seat, autonomous vehicle was formally added to Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Austin.
“Tesla began commercial deployment with a small number of its Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas. Tesla notified the Agency that it certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Tesla also notified the Agency that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations,” the report of the investigation said.
“The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors. NHTSA is opening this AQ to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues. Among other things, NHTSA will consider the extent to which Tesla’s certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.”
Automakers typically self-certify their vehicles under the FMVSS guidelines, which currently require them to have human controls. Tesla’s Robotaxi service also uses Model Y SUVs without drivers, but they still have steering wheels and pedals installed. NHTSA said it conducts audits “when certified vehicles appear to not adhere to these requirements.”
However, in July, NHTSA granted an exemption to Tesla’s rival Zoox that allows it to deploy up to 2,500 robotaxis that are not equipped with steering wheels or pedals. Amazon-owned Zoox currently deploys the vehicles in Las Vegas, but is looking to expand to other cities that allow autonomous taxis, including Austin.
The box-shaped Zoox seats four passengers in two rows facing the center of the vehicle. The waiver was acquired through a dialogue with the agency, which is working toward updating its regulations to allow other automakers to do the same as a matter of course. Tesla has not yet commented on the NHTSA examination.
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Like Zoox, Tesla owns all of its Cybercabs and does not yet sell them to outside companies or individual retail customers. It currently has 45 registered for operation in Texas, where they are being deployed within geofenced areas in Austin, Houston and Dallas, and are all remotely monitored by Tesla.
“As part of the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to unleash American innovation and enhance safety on our roads, NHTSA is in the process of overhauling these standards,” the agency said in a news release. “Over the last year, the agency announced it has begun working on eight rulemakings – including standards relating to brake pedals, windshield wipers, lighting, and rearview mirrors. The agency looks forward to finishing these critical updates and removing unnecessary barriers to American AV innovation in the coming months. Until that work is completed, however, existing standards remain in force.”
This story has been updated with new comments from NHTSA
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