Tesla launched Cybercab in Austin without steering wheel, pedals, mirrors
NHTSA has opened an investigation into whether Tesla’s steering-wheel-free Cybercab complies with U.S. safety standards, days after the company began letting customers in Austin, Texas, book rides through its Robotaxi ride-hailing app. The agency disclosed the audit Friday in a public filing, setting up a potential regulatory clash with the automaker as it pushes to shift from electric vehicles to fully autonomous cars.
NHTSA said it will examine the process and technical data Tesla relied upon to self-certify compliance, including the extent to which Tesla’s certification depended on determinations that certain standards are inapplicable to the Cybercab. According to the filing, Tesla told NHTSA it plans to “gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.”
The Cybercab is a two-seater gold coupe without pedals or mirrors, a design that potentially puts it in conflict with federal safety standards developed for traditional motor vehicles. Tesla launched the vehicle Thursday, opening rides to customers in Austin through its Robotaxi app. The company has registered 45 Cybercabs in Texas for its autonomous ride-hailing service as of Thursday, expanding a fleet of robotaxis in the state to 420 vehicles, including self-driving Model Ys.
Under U.S. rules, automakers self-certify that a vehicle they sell meets all relevant safety standards before production, and NHTSA is then left to determine whether vehicles meet all applicable rules only after cars are already on public roads. The self-certification framework was designed decades ago, without vehicles like the Cybercab in mind. NHTSA has proposed new rules that would eliminate requirements for manual pedals in autonomous vehicles — changes that are not yet in effect.
The Cybercab probe echoes a 2022 dispute with Amazon’s Zoox, which self-certified that its own robotaxi met NHTSA’s safety standards despite the vehicle not having a steering wheel or pedals. The regulator objected and ultimately found that the Zoox robotaxi didn’t comply with certain standards. In July, NHTSA granted Zoox an exemption to begin commercial operations in response to a petition filed by the company; Zoox is barred from operating its taxis on roads with heavy rain or snow, or with a speed limit of more than 45 miles an hour. Tesla hasn’t filed such a petition, NHTSA has said.
Tesla aims eventually to sell the Cybercab to the public with a starting price below $30,000 and has installed manufacturing capacity to build more than 125,000 Cybercabs a year. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and an NHTSA spokesman didn’t have an immediate comment.