Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team have told advisers they plan to create a federal framework for fully autonomous vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter. According to , one of the priorities of the Department of Transportation is
If the new rules enable cars without human controls, it would directly benefit Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and a mega-donor to Trump who has become a powerful fixture in the president-elect’s inner circle. It has bet the EV maker’s future on self-driving technology and artificial intelligence.
Current federal laws create significant obstacles for companies looking to mass-produce vehicles without steering wheels or foot pedals, which Tesla plans to do. Trump’s team is seeking policy leaders for the department to develop a framework for regulating self-driving vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter.
While the Department of Transportation, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, can issue rules that make autonomous vehicles easier to operate, an act of Congress would clear the way for mass adoption of autonomous vehicles. A bipartisan legislative initiative in the early stages would create federal rules around AVs, two of the people said.
He said one candidate under consideration for transportation secretary is Emil Michael, who runs Uber Technologies Inc. is a former executive who has spoken with Trump’s team and potential staff. He said that the work is in the initial stages and the details of the policy are yet to be determined.
Republican Reps. Sam Graves of Missouri and Garrett Graves of Louisiana have also been considered to lead the department, the people said.
The transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
In October, Musk announced plans to mass-produce driverless Tesla Robotaxes starting in 2026. Current US regulations pose significant obstacles to Musk’s plans for so-called cybercabs, including a cap limiting their deployment.
On Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, he supported federal laws on autonomy, saying he would use any role he has with the government to allow the process of allowing autonomous vehicles to be used nationwide. can be carried forward. The announcement prompted a selloff in shares of Uber and rival Lyft Inc.
Trump has since nominated Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency to “cut through government bureaucracy” and reduce costs and regulations seen as too burdensome.
Past efforts to pass federal legislation to regulate autonomous vehicles have stumbled.
NHTSA currently allows manufacturers to deploy 2,500 self-driving vehicles per year under a given exemption, but legislative efforts to increase that number to 100,000 have repeatedly failed.
A bill to do so sailed through the House several years ago during Trump’s first term, but the measure has stalled in the Senate. Efforts to merge the bill with other legislation during the first year of the Biden administration failed when some manufacturers tried to include language that would prevent consumers from suing or forming class action cases.
