NHTSA has issued a formal Special Order requiring Tesla to prove under oath that its Cybercab complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) despite lacking a steering wheel, pedals, and mirrors. The order, containing 21 detailed requests and signed by the agency’s chief counsel, gives Tesla until September 30 to respond and warns of penalties up to roughly $139 million for false or incomplete answers. The dispute centers on self-certification: Tesla declared the Cybercab compliant, while NHTSA argues many FMVSS assume a human driver and cannot simply be marked “inapplicable” by a manufacturer. Request 19 targets FMVSS No. 135, which requires a foot-activated service brake - something the Cybercab does not have - and the agency stresses that proposed rule changes are not yet effective law. Other specific standards cited include FMVSS 101, 102, 108, 111 and 126.
The order also probes whether Tesla used temporarily attached conventional controls during testing or certification and then removed them, which could violate the Safety Act’s “make inoperative” prohibition. NHTSA points out Tesla has no Part 555 exemption that would legally permit selling a driverless vehicle without those controls, contrasting Tesla’s self-certification and immediate commercial service with Zoox, which secured limited exemptions after applying and waiting. Tesla’s sworn response can carry criminal penalties for falsification, and the action leaves the Cybercab restricted to small, geo-fenced, low-speed operations unless Tesla can legally justify its certifications or obtain appropriate exemptions.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.
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