The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Tesla’s decision to deploy its Cybercab on public roads without a steering wheel or pedals. The probe began Friday, September 4, only hours after the first Cybercabs entered service in Austin, Texas.
Tesla told NHTSA that it had self-certified the Cybercab as compliant with applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Automakers generally self-certify compliance, but NHTSA said its investigation will examine the process and technical information Tesla relied on when determining which federal standards apply to the vehicle.
NHTSA Will Review Tesla’s Self-Certification
The investigation will examine whether Tesla appropriately determined that some safety requirements involving traditional driver controls do not apply to the Cybercab. Current federal standards still include requirements written around vehicles with equipment such as manually operated brake controls.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the agency supports the development of autonomous vehicles while also requiring manufacturers to comply with existing laws. The agency emphasized that current standards remain in force while regulators work on updates designed specifically for vehicles that are never operated by human drivers.
NHTSA proposed changing its brake requirements in June to remove the requirement for hand or foot-operated brake controls in vehicles designed exclusively around automated driving systems. The proposal would retain braking-performance requirements such as stopping-distance standards, but the changes have not yet been finalized.
Zoox Faced a Similar Federal Review
Amazon-owned Zoox went through a similar regulatory process after self-certifying its purpose-built robotaxi, which also lacks traditional controls. NHTSA opened an audit query into Zoox in 2023 while the company was still testing the vehicle.
Zoox later pursued a temporary Part 555 exemption covering eight federal safety standards. The company received final approval in July 2026, allowing it to add up to 2,500 vehicles per year to its commercial fleet for two years before beginning paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas.
It is not yet clear whether Tesla will need to follow the same exemption process. NHTSA is simultaneously working to rewrite several safety standards that were originally designed around vehicles operated by human drivers, including rules covering braking and other manual controls.
For now, the agency said Tesla’s Cybercab must comply with the standards currently in effect. The investigation will determine whether Tesla had an adequate technical and regulatory basis for certifying the vehicle before placing it on public roads.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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