Tesla’s Cybercab is already under investigation by the US federal government just few days after it was unveiled in Austin, Texas, for public use.
The vehicle, a distinctive two-seater without a steering wheel or brake pedals, is set to start picking up members of the public in two states. However, the US government is probing whether it meets federal safety standards.
The investigation comes just hours after the electric automaker welcomed hundreds of fans to downtown Austin to ride in the driverless Cybercabs.
Tesla plans to deploy the vehicles on its Robotaxi ride-hail network, which is currently operating in a handful of cities in Texas and Florida.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is updating vehicle standards to make it easier and faster for driverless cars to deploy on public roads. It’s currently tweaking eight rules, including those requiring car parts that driverless cars don’t really need: brake pedals, windshield wipers, and rearview mirrors. But for now, years-old standards remain in place.
Meanwhile, unusually shaped robotaxi companies have been told to apply for an exemption from federal rules before they start picking up passengers. Amazon subsidiary Zoox, whose vehicles do not have steering wheels or manual controls, won the first of these exemptions this summer, which limits its operations to 2,500 vehicles this year.
Tesla, however, has said it doesn’t need an exemption because its vehicles comply with all existing safety standards.
The investigation, called an Audit Query, will examine the data and process that Tesla used to make that determination, according to a government filing.
In a statement, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said his agency “fully supports the safe development and deployment of automated vehicles. But as the federal regulator, we need to ensure that all of our laws are followed.”
While Elon Musk’s Tesla did not immediately respond to the development, a former acting administrator at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ann Carlson, who is now a professor of Environmental Law at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) said the investigation was likely “an indication that NHTSA is super frustrated with Tesla.”
