U.S. Regulator Orders Tesla to Explain How Steering-Wheel-Free Cybercab Was Certified

U.S. regulators have ordered Tesla to explain how its steering-wheel-free Cybercab was certified to operate on public roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given Tesla until September 30 to provide detailed information about how the autonomous vehicle was self-certified as complying with federal safety standards.

The Cybercab is designed without conventional driver controls such as a steering wheel or pedals.

NHTSA specifically wants Tesla to explain whether temporary human driver controls or other equipment were used as part of the company’s certification rationale.

The agency opened its formal investigation on September 4, immediately after Tesla began commercial Cybercab deployment in Austin.

Under the U.S. system, vehicle manufacturers generally self-certify that their products comply with applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

NHTSA can subsequently audit those certifications and require manufacturers to demonstrate how compliance was established.

The investigation does not mean NHTSA has concluded that the Cybercab is unsafe or was unlawfully certified.

Instead, the regulator is examining how safety standards originally developed around human-controlled vehicles apply to a vehicle designed to operate without conventional human controls.

The Cybercab brings that regulatory problem onto public roads.

Tesla has built a vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals.

Now the federal safety regulator wants to know precisely how Tesla determined that it complies with rules written for cars that traditionally have both.

Sources

• Reuters – NHTSA orders Tesla to answer Cybercab certification questions
• NHTSA – Cybercab self-certification investigation