The Trump transition team has recommended the incoming administration to abolish car-crash reporting requirement that has been opposed by Tesla, reported Reuters, citing a document it has seen.
This recommendation, if enacted, could hinder the government’s capability to monitor and regulate the safety of automated-driving systems.
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The proposed removal of the crash-disclosure rule would be particularly advantageous for Tesla, which has reported over 1,500 crashes to federal safety regulators under the current programme.
This data has been instrumental in several National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations, including three that were initiated based on the reported information.
The transition team, responsible for formulating a 100-day strategy for automotive policy, has labelled the rule as an “excessive” mandate for data collection, according to a document obtained by Reuters.
The team’s recommendations are yet to receive a response from Tesla, Elon Musk, or the Trump team.
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By GlobalDataWhile Reuters couldn’t confirm Musk’s involvement, the alliance for automotive innovation, representing most major automakers except Tesla, has criticised the rule as burdensome.
An analysis by Reuters of NHTSA crash data revealed that Tesla was responsible for 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to the agency up to 15 October. Among these were a fatal incident in Virginia and a collision in California, both involving Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature.
Former NHTSA employees have stressed the importance of the crash-reporting requirements, which have been pivotal to investigations leading to recalls in 2023.
NHTSA has emphasised the value of this data in evaluating the safety of automated-driving technologies.
Since the rule’s establishment in 2021, NHTSA has collected data on over 2,700 crashes, influencing ten investigations across six companies and resulting in nine safety recalls from four companies. For instance, GM’s self-driving startup Cruise was fined $1.5m for failing to report a crash involving a pedestrian.
The recommendations not only urge the scrapping of the reporting rule but also advocate for “liberalising” autonomous-vehicle regulation and enacting “basic regulations” to foster industry development.
Musk, during a Tesla earnings call, expressed his desire for a federal approval process for autonomous vehicles, which he plans to promote through his advisory role in the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
