The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Tesla's Cybercab rollout in Austin, checking whether the automaker properly certified robotaxis built without a steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors. The agency says it is examining the data Tesla used to certify up to 1,000 of the vehicles. Unlike Zoox, which petitioned regulators before launching a similar service, Tesla filed no such petition.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Tesla's Cybercab rollout in Austin, Texas, this week, a launch that put custom-built robotaxis without a steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors on public roads.
The auto safety regulator is examining the process and technical data Tesla relied on to demonstrate compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards for up to 1,000 Cybercabs, Reuters reported. Automakers must certify that vehicles meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and NHTSA investigates when certified vehicles appear not to adhere to those requirements, the agency said Friday.
NHTSA is also examining the basis of Tesla's Cybercab certification, including the extent to which the company determined that certain standards were not applicable to the vehicle. According to NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison, "we need to ensure that all of our laws are followed", in a statement on the investigation.
NHTSA proposed in June that fully self-driving vehicles no longer be required to carry manual brake pedals, but that proposal has not been finalized and the existing requirement still applies today, the agency noted.
Zoox received approval about a month earlier to operate paid robotaxis without human controls on US roads, after petitioning NHTSA for permission. Tesla, by contrast, has filed no such petition.
Elon Musk was not present at the Cybercab launch, and the event was not livestreamed.
Source: CleanTechnica
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