Federal Regulators Open Probe Into Tesla Cybercab Self-Certification

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into Tesla's Cybercab on Friday morning, just hours after the company deployed the first driverless vehicles on Austin, Texas streets.

The Cybercab operates without a steering wheel or pedals, conflicting with federal vehicle safety rules requiring manual controls. The Department of Transportation has proposed dropping these requirements, but the change has not taken effect. Tesla stated it self-certified the Cybercab as compliant with all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. NHTSA's investigation will examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues.

A similar audit query was launched against Amazon's Zoox in 2023, which later received an exemption in July 2026 to operate up to 2,500 vehicles annually, subsequently launching commercial service in Las Vegas. Tesla welcomed hundreds of fans to downtown Austin to ride the driverless Cybercabs, planning deployment on its Robotaxi network in Texas and Florida.

The two-seater Cybercab is purpose-built without traditional controls. Gary Moss, who is blind, experienced the Cybercab in Austin, noting its automatic doors and describing it as a glimpse of regaining their independence. Tesla China announced the Cybercab would be exhibited in major Chinese cities starting mid-September, clarifying this does not mean sales or operations there soon. Mass production began in April at Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory.