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As soon as Elon Musk's electric vehicle company Tesla held a launch event for the Cybercab in Texas, transportation authorities launched a safety investigation, pouring cold water on the event.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into whether Tesla's Cybercab meets federal vehicle safety standards, the New York Times (NYT) and Bloomberg reported on the 4th (local time).
The Cybercab is a gold-painted, two-seater autonomous robotaxi (driverless taxi) vehicle that attracted global attention after a launch event for general fans and influencers was held in Austin the previous night.
The problem is that the Cybercab has neither a steering wheel nor a brake pedal.
Currently, US transportation authorities require all vehicles to have human-centric operating devices such as brake pedals and rearview mirrors.
In the case of Amazon's autonomous taxi 'Zoox,' it lacks such devices but has received approval from authorities for an exemption from federal safety standards through a separate process. Tesla is reportedly not to have followed the relevant procedures.
NHTSA pointed out that it is "in the process of revising standards related to brake pedals, wipers, lights, and rearview mirrors as part of the Donald Trump administration's innovation efforts," but "until the revisions are completed, existing standards will continue to apply."
It further stated that it plans to evaluate whether Tesla has fully complied with federal vehicle safety standards.
Jonathan Morrison, NHTSA Director, explained, "We support the safe development and deployment of autonomous vehicles," but "balancing innovation and safety oversight will allow the US to maintain leadership in the autonomous driving sector."
The Cybercab is one of the key plans for Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, to preempt the autonomous vehicle market, a dream he has long held.
The NYT pointed out that a significant portion of Tesla's market capitalization of $1.4 trillion (approximately 1,885 trillion Korean Won) depends on the success of this robotaxi business.
However, as the previous day's event was held privately and the transportation authorities' investigation began, investors showed signs of disappointment.
Tesla's stock price fell by 6% during morning trading today.
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