President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team plans to create a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles, Bloomberg reported citing sources.
Should new regulations permit vehicles without human controls, it could provide a significant benefit to Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a major donor to President-elect Trump, who has emerged as a key figure in his inner circle.
Current federal rules pose challenges for deploying vehicles without human controls, which Tesla aims to address.
The Trump team is seeking policy leaders to develop regulations for self-driving vehicles, the report said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) can issue rules to facilitate autonomous vehicle operations, but Congress must pass legislation for mass adoption of self-driving cars.
A bipartisan legislative measure is in early discussions to create federal rules around autonomous vehicles, people familiar with the development told Bloomberg.
Emil Michael, a former Uber executive, is a candidate for Transportation Secretary, along with Republican Representatives Sam Graves of Missouri and Garret Graves of Louisiana. The transition team has not yet commented on these developments.
Musk announced plans in October to produce driverless Tesla robotaxis without driver controls in 2026, amid regulatory hurdles.
Current US regulations limit the deployment of Tesla’s Cybercab, including a cap on their numbers.
Musk supports federal rules for autonomy, expressing his willingness to assist the government in pushing for nationwide autonomous vehicle usage. This statement led to a selloff of shares in Uber and Lyft.
Trump has appointed Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new initiative to reduce government bureaucracy.
Efforts to legislate autonomous vehicle regulations is a challenge. The NHTSA currently allows the deployment of 2,500 self-driving vehicles per year under an exemption. Legislative attempts to increase this number to 100,000 have repeatedly failed.
A bill passed the House during Trump’s first term but stalled in the Senate. An attempt to merge it with other legislation during the Biden administration also faltered.
