Abstract:
According to Reuters, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Tuesday that Tesla must answer a series of questions by September 30 as part of a government investigation on whether it has properly self-certified its self-driving taxi Cybercab.
Cybercab
NHTSA said Tesla must answer whether its temporary installation of human driving controls or other equipment is one of the basis for the company's compliance certification, among other questions.
Cybercab does not come with a steering wheel or pedals. Under current U.S. law, fully autonomous vehicles do not need NHTSA approval if they are equipped with steering wheels, brake pedals, rearview mirrors and other features of a human-driven vehicle. In addition, NHTSA has the authority to approve applications to allow each manufacturer to allow up to 2,500 vehicles per year without human driving controls to drive on U.S. roads.
NHTSA said this month it was reviewing the certification process and technical data Tesla used to demonstrate compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards before deploying Cybercab.
NHTSA asked Tesla to confirm whether the Cybercab self-driving taxi can be controlled by a human driver and whether there are any controls on the touch screen in the vehicle that would allow passengers to move the vehicle.
NHTSA also requires Tesla to answer questions about the maximum speed of self-driving taxis, geographic range or time limit, and other restrictions.
On September 3 this year, Tesla began commercial deployment of a small number of two-seater Cybercabs in Austin, Texas, and stated that it planned to gradually expand services to more vehicles and locations.
NHTSA said the Cybercab does not have traditional manual controls, including a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal and rearview mirrors.
Tesla and other self-driving taxi companies, including Waymo, have backed the Trump administration's plan to change regulations so that such vehicles do not need steering wheels, brake pedals, mirrors or other equipment required for human driving. Critics of self-driving taxis oppose the changes, arguing that the companies should not be exempted from the regulations until they prove that self-driving cars are safe.
As of press time, Tesla has not commented on this.
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