Yahoo Autos Trump Is Reportedly Planning to Relax Rules for Self-Driving Cars
The incoming Trump administration intends to prioritize loosening federal regulations for self-driving cars, per a report by Bloomberg.
The report claims policy details aren't yet confirmed, but it suggests the new rules could make it easier to get more fully autonomous vehicles on the road.
Reducing roadblocks would benefit companies that have invested in self-driving tech, including Tesla, which recently debuted the Cybercab.
American drivers could soon be sharing the road with more self-driving cars if the incoming Trump administration is able to follow through on its reported plans. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team have indicated they would like to loosen federal regulations around fully autonomous vehicles, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg, citing two unnamed sources who are familiar with the plan, claims that the incoming presidential administration wants to create a federal framework to regulate driverless cars. The report also mentions that bipartisan legislation is already being discussed to create new federal rules for autonomous vehicles. It's suggested that these new rules could reduce existing roadblocks, including raising the cap on how many self-driving cars can be on public roads.
Currently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will grant an exemption so that each manufacturer can deploy up to 2500 autonomous vehicles per year. As Bloomberg points out, there were already attempts during Trump's first term as well as under the Biden administration to increase that amount to up to 100,000, but neither piece of legislation was passed.
Since the process is still in its early stages, specific details about the policy under the Trump administration have not yet been confirmed. Trump also hasn't yet nominated someone to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), although Emil Michael, a former Uber executive, is one of the top candidates, according to Reuters.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been involved with Trump and his team, is among those who would benefit from looser self-driving regulations. Musk has long-promised a fleet of driverless taxis, and Tesla recently revealed the Cybercab, an electric two-seater with no steering wheel or pedals. During the reveal event last month, Musk said the Cybercab will start under $30,000 and enter production sometime in 2026.
While current federal regulations limit the way autonomous cars can operate on public roads, that could change with the new rules that Trump's team might propose. Of course, individual states also have their own regulations, and those will come into play as well.
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