The industry is under scrutiny following an incident involving a General Motors Cruise vehicle that injured a pedestrian, prompting NHTSA investigations into Cruise, Waymo, and Zoox. In response, USDOT proposed streamlining the review process for deploying self-driving vehicles without human controls. Despite efforts, legislative progress on robotaxis has stalled. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced plans to introduce autonomous ride-hailing services in Texas by June. The letter represents ongoing pressure on regulators to advance autonomous vehicle policies, following similar appeals to the Biden administration in December 2023.
Key takeaways:
- Major automakers and tech groups are urging the Trump administration to expedite the deployment of self-driving cars by addressing regulatory hurdles.
- The Alliance For Automotive Innovation and other groups have called for a national performance-based framework and for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to be the sole regulator of self-driving vehicle hardware, software, and operation.
- The industry is under scrutiny after incidents involving self-driving vehicles, including a serious injury caused by a General Motors Cruise vehicle and investigations into vehicles operated by Cruise, Waymo, and Zoox.
- Efforts to streamline the deployment of autonomous vehicles have faced challenges, with calls for the U.S. Transportation Department to take more decisive action and for Congress to ease restrictions on robotaxis.