The team behind the Trump administration's incoming transition into the White House is pushing to remove a car-crash reporting requirement, a move that would benefit Elon Musk's Tesla whilst simultaneously complicating investigations into the safety of vehicles with automated driving.
The Trump transition team tasked with creating a 100-day strategy for automotive policy came up with the proposal, which would benefit Musk's company. Tesla has had to report over 1500 crashes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with data demonstrating that vehicles from the company were involved in 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to NHTSA through Oct. 15, according to Reuters.
Tesla has been subjected to many NHTSA investigations as a result of specific cases or incidents of fatal car crashes. In 2023, a fatal accident occurred in Virginia involving a Tesla vehicle that had been on autopilot which then crashed into a tractor-trailer. Another incident in California that same year saw a Tesla vehicle crash into a firetruck while on autopilot, killing the driver and injuring four firefighters.
Musk assumed an instrumental role in Trump's presidential campaign, donating over $200 million and hosting rallies, both with Trump and on his own. Following the former president's re-election, Trump chose Musk to head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Whether or not Musk had any influence over the automotive policy transition team remains unclear. The incoming administration's willingness to enact these policies also cannot be determined.
NHTSA has repeatedly stressed the importance of crash reporting in assisting with the roll-out of preventative, potentially life-saving measures. Two former NHTSA employees stated that crash-reporting requirements greatly assisted investigations into Tesla's driver-assistance features which resulted in vehicle recall in 2023. NHTSA cannot determine recurring crash issues and safety problems without such data, it said.
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