Elon Musk is reportedly lobbying U.S. lawmakers to accelerate federal approval for autonomous vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
Over the past several weeks, Musk and his team at Tesla have been directly contacting members of Congress to build support for legislation that would lay the groundwork for large-scale deployment of driverless cars. These private discussions include input on revisions to a bill introduced on May 15, which proposes a national framework for autonomous vehicle regulation.
Sources told Bloomberg that Tesla is pushing to either expedite the current bill or introduce a more detailed version ahead of the July 4 congressional recess. A spokesperson for Senator Cynthia Lummis, the bill’s sponsor, declined to say whether Musk had contacted her office, but confirmed the legislation is based on long-standing Department of Transportation recommendations.
The effort comes as Tesla reportedly prepares to launch its robotaxi pilot service in Austin on June 12, using a small fleet of Model Y vehicles. Musk has increasingly tied Tesla’s future to autonomy and robotics, and a unified federal policy would help companies like Tesla scale operations nationwide.
A White House official, speaking anonymously, said the administration is open to federal AV rules, though Tesla declined to comment directly on the lobbying effort.
If passed, the legislation could finally replace the current patchwork of state-by-state AV regulations, which Musk has criticized in the past.
