Trump’s victory could speed Musk’s robotaxi, but long road ahead
When Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a model of what he said was a fully autonomous robotaxi, he touted the vehicle as the future of transportation.
- Automakers say they face series of regulatory hurdles to self-driving cars.
- NHTSA must assert it is sole regulator of self-driving vehicle hardware, they say.
- Autonomous cars have faced scrutiny after 2023 pedestrian injury.
Major automakers and tech groups last week called on the Trump administration to take steps to speed the deployment of self-driving cars, citing a number of regulatory hurdles.
The Alliance For Automotive Innovation, a group representing nearly all major automakers, in a letter seen by Reuters, called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to quickly implement a national performance-based framework and assert the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s role as sole regulator of self-driving vehicle hardware, software and operation. The Consumer Technology Association, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association and other groups also signed the letter.
“If the federal government fails to act to advance sensible AV policies we will cede our leadership in this economically crucial sector to China,” the letter said. “Multiple agencies and state regulatory regimes create inconsistent rules, risking safety gaps and eroding public trust.”
The groups want the U.S. Transportation Department to not require human drivers to operate self-driving commercial motor vehicles and allow self-driving trucks to use cab-mounted warning beacons instead of devices requiring drivers to physically deploy them.
USDOT did not immediately comment.
NHTSA should clarify that no manually operated driving controls are required in self-driving vehicles and ensure a driver’s license is not required to ride in an AV, the letter added.
The industry faces scrutiny after a pedestrian was seriously injured in October 2023 by a General Motors Cruise vehicle.
NHTSA opened investigations into self-driving vehicles operated by Cruise, Google-owned Waymo and Amazon.com-owned Zoox. In November, Cruise admitted to submitting a false report to influence NHTSA’s investigation and paid a $500,000 criminal fine. GM has since folded Cruise into its personal autonomy research
In December, USDOT proposed streamlining reviews of petitions to deploy self-driving vehicles without human controls such as steering wheels or brake pedals.
Efforts in Congress to make it easier to deploy robotaxis on U.S. roads without human controls have been stymied for years.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is leading Trump’s effort to shrink the federal government, told investors in January Tesla would roll out “autonomous ride-hailing for money” by June in Texas.
Tuesday’s letter is the latest push for more action by regulators.
Autonomous vehicle companies in January urged U.S. DOT to “assert its responsibility over the design, construction and performance of autonomous vehicles and increase its efforts in key areas.”
In December 2023, automakers and the Chamber of Commerce called on USDOT under then-President Joe Biden to do more for self-driving vehicle deployment.
