Tesla and Waymo threat? NHTSA nominee pushes for federal self-driving regulation to 'build public trust'
- - - Tesla and Waymo threat? NHTSA nominee pushes for federal self-driving regulation to 'build public trust'
Pras SubramanianJuly 17, 2025 at 3:04 AM
President Trump’s nominee to run the country’s top auto safety agency may bring more scrutiny to technologies like autonomous driving and robotaxis, putting pressure on companies like Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet's (GOOG) Waymo. This comes in contrast to expectations that the administration would ease federal autonomous regulations.
Trump’s nominee for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator, Jonathan Morrison, previously worked as an attorney at NHTSA and testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday as part of the nomination process.
“The state of technology has moved forward now [since prior NHTSA stint], and we need to start working on ways to build public trust,” Morrison said when asked about regulating tech like autonomous driving.
Time for rules? NHTSA administrator nominee Jonathan Morrison testifying in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as part of the nomination process. (Commerce.senate.gov)
Morrison added that there was a “lack of federal leadership in the space,” and regulations that could emerge too late in the game would have a “chilling effect” on companies looking to innovate in the space.
Morrison added that he "absolutely" believed federal standards were needed when asked by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican.
In his prepared remarks, Morrison previewed an even more aggressive approach.
“NHTSA cannot sit back and wait for problems to arise with such developing technologies, but must demonstrate strong leadership,” Morrison said in his prepared testimony.
A rider boards a driverless Tesla robotaxi, a ride-booking service, Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) ()
“The technical and policy challenges surrounding these new technologies must be addressed … Failure to do so will result in products that the public will not accept and the agency will not tolerate,” Morrison added. Reuters was the first to report on Morrison’s prepared testimony.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s once-close relationship with President Trump indicated to investors and analysts that the federal government would take a gentle stance toward the company’s autonomous and robotaxi rollout.
Tesla has expanded its robotaxi testing in Austin, and Musk said the company would expand testing to the San Francisco Bay Area, but reports suggest those applications for those state permits have not been submitted.
Currently, NHTSA is investigating certain issues where Tesla robotaxis violated local traffic laws in Austin, and regulators added that its investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD)-Supervised/Beta software remains open.
Waiting for regulation: Waymo communications manager Julia Ilina stands next to a Waymo driverless taxi in San Francisco, on Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File) ()
It isn't just Tesla that would be affected by more NHTSA scrutiny. Waymo, the leader in the space, has been expanding robotaxi deployments in the US, and Uber (UBER) is as well with its technology partners.
Tesla, for its part, has not revealed its next steps or when the general public will be allowed to summon a robotaxi in Austin. Musk has said he expects “millions” of robotaxis to be driving around by the second half of 2026, but the CEO has a history of making highly speculative predictions that have not come to fruition.
A more vigilant NHTSA may hamper Tesla’s efforts to roll out FSD and robotaxi services, though the pursuit of national standards may actually help Tesla navigate the various state and local regulations that may be preempted if NHTSA puts forth federal guidelines.
Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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