Tesla's Cybercab, a two-seat vehicle without a steering wheel or brake pedals, started picking up members of the public in Texas and Florida on Saturday as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into whether the vehicle meets federal safety standards. The probe began hours after Tesla welcomed hundreds of riders to downtown Austin for trips in the driverless Cybercabs, which the automaker is deploying on its robotaxi network operating in several cities across the two states.
The investigation highlights a regulatory gap as NHTSA works to update vehicle standards for autonomous cars. The agency is revising eight rules, including requirements for brake pedals, windshield wipers, and rearview mirrors that driverless vehicles do not use. Those updates remain incomplete, leaving decades-old standards in place.
Other companies operating unconventionally designed robotaxis have been required to apply for exemptions from federal rules before carrying passengers. Amazon subsidiary Zoox, whose vehicles also lack steering wheels and manual controls, received the first such exemption this summer, limiting its operations to 2,500 vehicles this year.
Tesla has stated it does not need an exemption because the Cybercab complies with existing safety standards. The company is now operating its robotaxi service publicly while federal regulators examine that claim.