Trump's transition team is asking the incoming administration to rescind car accident reporting requirements opposed by Elon Musk's Tesla, a move seen by Reuters. could cripple the government's ability to investigate and regulate system.
Mr. Musk, the world's richest man, spent more than $250 million to help Mr. Trump be elected president in November. Removing the crash disclosure provision would particularly benefit Tesla, which reports most of the more than 1,500 crashes under the program to federal safety regulators.
Tesla has been the subject of investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), three of which were data-based.
The recommendation to scrap accident reporting rules came from a transition team tasked with developing a 100-day strategy for motoring policy. The group called the measures “excessive” data collection requirements, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Trump's transition team, Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Reuters could not determine what role Musk played in developing the transition team's recommendations or whether the administration might enact them. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group representing most major automakers except Tesla, also criticized the requirements as onerous.
A Reuters analysis of NHTSA accident data found that Teslas accounted for 40 of the 45 fatal crashes reported to NHTSA through Oct. 15.
Among the Tesla crashes investigated by NHTSA under this provision are a fatal accident in Virginia in 2023 in which a driver using the car's “Autopilot” feature collided with a tractor-trailer; There was also an accident in California in which a Tesla was hit by a fire truck, killing the driver. And four firefighters were injured.
NHTSA said in a statement that such data is critical to evaluating the safety of new self-driving technologies. Two former NHTSA officials said crash reporting requirements were critical to the agency's investigation into Tesla's driver-assistance features that led to the 2023 recall. Without the data, NHTSA cannot easily detect crash patterns that highlight safety issues, they said.
NHTSA said the agency has received and analyzed data on more than 2,700 crashes since enacting the rule in 2021. According to NHTSA, this data impacted 10 investigations into six companies, as well as nine safety recalls involving four different companies.
As an example, in September, NHTSA fined Cruise, a self-driving startup owned by General Motors, $1.5 million for failing to report a 2023 crash in which its vehicle crashed and dragged a pedestrian. GM announced this week that it will end robotaxis development at Cruise and integrate it into its own group, which develops driver-assistance technology.
crash report
NHTSA's so-called standing general order requires automakers to report crashes, such as when advanced driver-assistance technology or autonomous driving technology is activated within 30 seconds of a crash.
In addition to scrapping the reporting rules, the recommendations call on the government to “liberalize” self-driving car regulations and establish “fundamental regulations that enable development” for the industry.
At Tesla's earnings call in October, Musk called for a “federal approval process for self-driving cars” rather than a patchwork of state laws, which he called “incredibly painful.” He said he plans to use his position as government efficiency czar, promised by President Trump, to push for these regulatory changes.
After the election, Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Musk to co-lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which will provide advice from “outside the government” on cuts to federal workers, spending and regulations.
More data means more crashes
Tesla is one of the most well-known car manufacturers that develops advanced driver assistance features that can assist with lane changes, driving speed, and steering.
Tesla's Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” systems are not fully self-driving, but lawsuits and Justice Department examining whether Tesla overstated its vehicles' self-driving capabilities to mislead investors and harm consumers has been the subject of intense scrutiny due to criminal investigations.
Two people familiar with Tesla executives' thinking told Reuters that Tesla has flouted crash notification requirements and that NHTSA is presenting data in a way that misleads consumers about the automaker's safety. I believe that
Tesla executives have discussed with Mr. Musk the need to push for an end to crash reporting requirements in recent years, one of the people said. But Biden officials expressed enthusiasm for the program, leading Tesla executives to conclude that a change of administration would be needed to ultimately eliminate the requirement, the people said.
Tesla believes this rule is unfair because it believes it reports better data than other automakers, resulting in a huge number of crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems. It appears as though Tesla is to blame, one of the people said.
NHTSA cautions that this data should not be used to compare the safety of one automaker because each automaker collects crash information differently.
Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who focuses on autonomous driving, said Tesla collects real-time crash data that other companies don't and that it collects “much more” than other automakers. It is highly likely that the number of accidents reported is 10%.
Smith also said Tesla is likely to see a higher frequency of crashes related to driver-assistance technology, as vehicles equipped with driver-assistance technology are on the road and drivers interact with the systems more frequently. said. That means vehicles may be more likely to get into “situations they can't handle,” he said.
