Trump’s NHTSA is more aligned with Musk
In 2023, Tesla More than 2 million vehicles were recalled—all cars with Autopilot—after regulators found that the automaker had not implemented the feature in a way that required drivers to remain attentive. That recall followed a 2021 NHTSA investigation into accidents and deaths related to this technology.
Since then, Tesla CEO Elon Musk led efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency that NHTSA gutted staff with expertise in evaluating AV safety. Then, shortly after that team was downsized, Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) system just got worse. Alarming reports of Tesla FSD failures prompted a new NHTSA investigation last October, which Tesla delayed responding.
It’s unclear whether the Texas accident will get Tesla into more trouble. NHTSA did not respond to Ars’ request for comment, but the agency appears more aligned with Musk on deregulating autonomous vehicles.
In January, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison confirmed In a speech, the agency considers that 2026 will be a “big” year for audiovisual regulation. He said NHTSA was moving quickly to change the rules and pave the way for the future Tesla envisions, coming soon, where it hopes human intervention won’t be necessary “when they see things going weird.”
“I’m talking about vehicles that would never require human intervention: vehicles that you can take a nap in,” Morrison said.
Morrison suggested that the technology “is one of, if not the most challenging engineering problems humanity has ever attempted,” and acknowledged that it was “critical to safety.” But he criticized the Biden administration for focusing too much on “law enforcement against AV developers and security research” and said that under the Trump administration, advancing American AVs would be a top priority.
“We will not be timid when we see something that we believe presents a risk to the public,” Morrison said. “But the promise of this technology to society is too great to ignore or, worse, discourage or ban.”
According to Morrison, the “path” to this future requires prioritizing safety, while “moving forward with a sense of urgency” to remove “unnecessary regulatory barriers” and “enable the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles to improve the safety and mobility of the American public.”
“To be clear, this includes the commercial deployment of purpose-built autonomous vehicles without traditional controls such as steering wheels or brake pedals,” Morrison said.
