Donald Trump's transition team is targeting a Biden-era rule requiring automakers and technology companies to report accidents involving fully or partially autonomous vehicles. according Reuters. Eliminating the accident reporting rule would greatly benefit Tesla, which has reported the most accidents to date.
In 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a standing general order (SGO) requiring automakers and technology companies to report crashes involving autonomous vehicles as well as driver assistance systems. Level 2 Levels found in millions of vehicles on the road today. Companies must now document collisions when an automated driving system was used within 30 seconds of impact and report those incidents to the government.
The idea was to create more transparency around the deployment of a new technology that aims to improve security but has also been linked to a series of deadly incidents. Regulators argued that more data was needed to determine whether these new systems were making roads safer or simply making driving more comfortable.
Tesla, in particular, came under scrutiny. The company's Autopilot and full self-driving features, which are considered Level 2 systems that require drivers to pay attention, are covered by the rule. Since it was implemented, Tesla has reported more than 1,500 accidents to the federal government. Reuters says. An analysis of accident data shows that Tesla accounted for 40 of 45 fatal accidents reported to NHTSA through October of this year.
Tesla's numbers were much higher than other companies, likely due to the fact that it sells more vehicles equipped with Level 2 systems than its rivals and collects more data. But it was also a big headache for the company. NHTSA has launched several investigations into Tesla's driver-assist technology, most of which focused on accidents reported under the SGO.
Several sources close to Tesla said Reuters that the company “despises” the current general order and concluded that it would need a change of administration to get rid of it. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was one of Trump's staunchest defenders, spending at least $277 million of his own money to support his campaign. Musk has since been appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency with the goal of cutting public spending.
Trump is also considering getting rid of other policies that Tesla opposes, including generous subsidies for electric vehicle companies. Musk believes Tesla is better positioned than other automakers to weather a subsidy-free environment due to its scale and maturity. Musk is also pressing Trump to ease restrictions on fully autonomous vehicles ahead of Tesla's plans to produce its own robotaxi in 2026.
