TSLA Edges Lower After Regulator Asks If Wheel-Less Cybercab Can Be Driven By A Human

The NHTSA has sent a special order to Tesla, seeking answers including Cybercab fleet size, operating cities, speed and road limits, and how Tesla decided which federal motor safety rules apply to its vehicle.

• Tesla held a launch event for the Cybercab on September 3 in Austin and started public rides in limited parts of the city.  
• Failure to answer fully can bring a Justice Department lawsuit and civil penalties of up to $27,874 a day, capped at about $139 million for a related series of violations, the order stated.
• No automaker has ever sold vehicles with no steering or pedals to the public.

Shares of EV giant Tesla Inc. (TSLA) fell about 1% on Tuesday as a U.S. auto safety regulator pressed the company for more details on its dedicated robotaxi offering, the Cybercab, including whether a human driver can operate it.

The two-seater Cybercab has no pedals or steering wheels. The company held a launch event for the vehicle on September 3 in Austin and started public rides in limited parts of the city.  

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) subsequently opened a probe to determine how Tesla concluded that the vehicle complied with applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.

Regulator Questions

The agency has now sent a special order to Tesla, seeking answers including fleet size, operating cities, speed and road limits, and how Tesla decided which federal motor safety rules apply to its vehicle. They also asked whether the cars can be driven with temporarily attached human controls, and whether those add-ons were part of the certification. If Tesla later removes them, the agency wants an explanation under the existing rules’ ban on making required equipment inoperative.

The order drills into rules written for human drivers: dashboard telltales, gear-position display, self-canceling turn signals, mirrors and rearview cameras, electronic-stability-control lights, and the requirement that service brakes be activated by a foot control.

Failure to answer fully can bring a Justice Department lawsuit and civil penalties of up to $27,874 a day, capped at about $139 million for a related series of violations, the order stated. The company has to respond by September 30.

Tesla’s Vision 

No automaker has ever sold vehicles with no steering or pedals to the public. However, Tesla has said that it intends to do it with the Cybercab. In 2024, CEO Elon Musk said the company intends to sell the vehicle for about $30,000 or less before 2027.

The Cybercab is key to CEO Elon Musk’s vision of transitioning the company from an EV maker to a robotics and AI company. The vehicle operates using the company’s full self-driving technology, which uses camera data alone to operate on public roads, unlike other autonomous vehicles from Waymo that also deploy radars, lidars, as well as cameras.

While the NHTSA is drafting new safety standards to accommodate autonomous vehicles, they aren’t in place yet.

How Did TSLA Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TSLA stock fell from ‘bearish’ to ‘extremely bearish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘normal’ levels.

TSLA stock has fallen 21% year-to-date. 

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