The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation on Friday into Tesla's certification of its Cybercab, hours after the automaker began commercial deployment of the driverless vehicle in Austin, Texas. The agency said its Audit Query will examine whether the purpose-built two-seat robotaxi meets all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards despite lacking a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal and conventional mirrors.
Reuters reported that the inquiry covers the process and technical data Tesla used to certify as many as 1,000 Cybercabs. Tesla began offering a small number of the gold-colored vehicles on Thursday and said it intends to expand gradually to more vehicles and locations. Texas records reviewed by Reuters showed 420 autonomous vehicles registered in the state on Friday morning, including 45 Cybercabs. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment reported by Reuters and the Associated Press.
U.S. automakers generally certify their own vehicles against the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, while NHTSA checks compliance and can investigate when a certification appears questionable. The regulator said it will assess the basis for Tesla's decision and whether the company treated some standards as inapplicable to the Cybercab. NHTSA stressed that existing rules remain in force while the government works on updates for vehicles designed without human controls.
The agency has begun eight rulemaking projects involving equipment such as brake pedals, windshield wipers, lighting and rearview mirrors. It proposed in June to remove the federal requirement for a manual brake pedal in fully autonomous vehicles, but that proposal is not yet a completed rule. Reuters noted that vehicles without required controls can seek temporary exemptions covering up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer each year, and NHTSA said Tesla had not previously sought such an exemption.
The review follows a different regulatory route taken by Amazon-owned Zoox. NHTSA approved a limited exemption for Zoox in July, allowing deployment of steering-wheel-free robotaxis subject to restrictions. The audit therefore tests how federal standards written around human-driven cars apply to a commercial vehicle built exclusively for autonomous operation, while keeping the immediate focus on the evidence supporting Tesla's own certification rather than judging the Cybercab's broader safety record.
Tesla has described the Cybercab as the dedicated vehicle at the center of its robotaxi strategy. A July investor filing said production had started, engineering drives were underway on public roads and employee rides had begun at the company's Texas factory. The outcome of the audit could determine whether the Austin rollout continues as planned and may shape how other developers bring vehicles without manual controls to U.S. streets while regulators finish modernizing the national safety framework.
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