by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering allowing the sale of autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or pedals. If these changes are adopted, it will significantly impact the robotaxi market, and Tesla, which is actively developing its Cybercab, could gain a substantial advantage.
NHTSA’s position on manual controls
NHTSA head Jonathan Morrison stated that requiring manual controls in vehicles never intended for human driving makes no sense. He emphasized that this applies to companies developing fully autonomous robotaxis, including Waymo and Tesla.
If you are developing a vehicle that will never be driven by a human, requiring manual controls makes no sense at all.
The agency has already begun reviewing federal safety standards to eliminate the rule mandating autonomous vehicles to have brake pedals.
Advantage for Tesla
If these changes are implemented, Tesla will be in a winning position. Its Cybercab, unveiled in late 2024, was originally designed without a steering wheel or pedals to be fully autonomous. However, last year, Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm acknowledged that due to regulatory requirements, the company would be forced to equip the robotaxi with traditional controls. Shortly after, prototypes of the Cybercab with a steering wheel and pedals were spotted.
Even if the law allows selling the Cybercab without a steering wheel, the smartest decision would be to produce both versions. Fleet versions could operate without manual controls, while private buyers could have the option to drive their Cybercab themselves, then send it into autonomous mode to earn money.
It is currently unknown whether Elon Musk, who donated hundreds of millions of dollars to President Trump’s campaign, influenced NHTSA’s decision to expedite the update of its rules.
This NHTSA initiative could be a pivotal moment for the entire autonomous vehicle industry. Eliminating the requirement for manual controls would not only simplify robotaxi design but also reduce their cost, accelerating mass adoption. For Tesla, this opens the path to realizing the original Cybercab concept, which was altered due to regulatory constraints. At the same time, the question remains whether private owners will be willing to completely forgo the ability to drive themselves, making the strategy of producing two versions the most balanced.
