Tesla's Cybercab drove Austin riders with no steering wheel. US regulators asked 21 questions.
Tesla started paid Cybercab rides in Austin on 3 September. The car has no steering wheel or pedals, and no mirrors. That same day, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an audit into how Tesla certified it as road-legal.
On 10 September NHTSA added a Special Order with 21 questions. Answers had to be signed under oath by a Tesla officer and were due by 30 September. Tesla certified the car as compliant itself, and NHTSA wants the basis for that certification.
One rule in question is brake standard FMVSS 135, which says the service brakes "shall be activated by means of a foot control." The Cybercab has no foot control. Penalties for not answering can reach $139 million, The Auto Wire reported.
Tesla did not apply for an exemption. Amazon's Zoox did, receiving a cap of 2,500 vehicles a year after an audit that took 29 months. On the afternoon of 30 September, neither Tesla nor NHTSA had said whether the answers were filed.
In Austin, the Robotaxi app told riders the Cybercab fleet had doubled. Teslarati counted 125 cars, up from 58 a week earlier.
🎥 Video: Tesla, official YouTube channel (launch film) · narration: AI voice
What the captions say
- No steering wheel. No pedals. No mirrors.
- Paid rides in Austin since 3 September.
- That day, US regulators opened an audit.
- 21 questions, answers under oath, due 30 September.
- Brakes need a foot control. It has none.
- Fleet went from 58 to 125, Teslarati counted.
- Tesla's own launch film.
