U.S. Regulators Demand Tesla Explain Robotaxi Safety Plans

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has sent a detailed information request to Tesla, demanding answers about the company’s upcoming robotaxi service and the safety of its self-driving technology.

The letter, dated May 8, 2025, was addressed to Tesla’s Director of Field Quality and made public today.

NHTSA says it is closely watching Tesla’s plan to launch a fleet of autonomous Model Y vehicles in Austin, Texas this June, which could offer paid rides and operate with limited or no human supervision. The agency’s request is part of an ongoing investigation into Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised collisions in poor visibility conditions, including fog, rain, dust, or darkness.

The agency is asking Tesla to provide (via Teslarati):

• The names and system details of the software used for robotaxi operations and its classification under SAE driving automation levels.
• Plans for testing and deployment, including how many vehicles Tesla will use in the first year and whether Tesla will seek exemptions from U.S. vehicle safety standards.
• How Tesla plans to monitor the vehicles, including real-time supervision and remote assistance.
• Technical descriptions of the sensors, cameras, computers, and safety systems used in the robotaxi program.
• Tesla’s methods for defining the system’s operational design domain (ODD), including any restrictions on speed, weather, time of day, or specific geographic areas.
• An explanation of how Tesla will ensure the robotaxis perform safely in emergency situations, such as accidents, system failures, or interactions with first responders.

The letter also demands information on how Tesla determines whether its system is safe enough for public use, how it tracks disengagements or human interventions, and how it plans to continuously monitor robotaxi performance once deployed.

Tesla has been given until June 19, 2025, to respond. Failure to fully comply could lead to daily fines of up to $27,874 per violation, with maximum penalties reaching nearly $140 million.

The investigation signals NHTSA’s growing concerns over Tesla’s aggressive rollout of self-driving technologies. Although Tesla has already started limited internal testing with employees in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, NHTSA is seeking clarification on Tesla’s timeline for expanding the service and whether it realistically meets the company’s stated goal of launching robotaxis by 2026.