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US to loosen rules on Tesla, other
carmakers taking on China in race for self-driving cars
[April 25, 2025]
By BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK
(AP) — The Trump administration is loosening rules to help U.S.
automakers like Elon Musk’s Tesla develop self-driving cars so they can
take on Chinese rivals. |
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference,
March 11, 2025, at the Department of Transportation in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file) |
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U.S. companies developing self-driving cars will be allowed
exemptions from certain federal safety rules for testing
purposes, the Transportation Department said Thursday. The
department also said it will streamline crash reporting
requirements involving self-driving software that Musk has
criticized as onerous and will move toward a single set of
national rules for the technology to replace a patchwork of
state regulations.
“We’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes
couldn’t be higher,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in
a statement. “Our new framework will slash red tape and move us
closer to a single national standard.”
The new exemption procedures will allow U.S. automakers to apply
to skip certain safety rules for self-driving vehicles if they
are used only for research, demonstrations and other
non-commercial purposes. The exemptions were in place previously
for foreign, imported vehicles whose home country rules may be
different than those in the U.S.
The decision comes a day after Musk confirmed on a conference
call with Tesla investors that the electric vehicle maker will
begin a rollout of self-driving Tesla taxis in Austin, Texas, in
June.
It’s not clear how the exemptions from National Traffic Safety
Administration rules will affect Tesla specifically. The company
has pinned its future on complete automation of its cars, but it
is facing stiff competition now from rivals, especially China
automaker BYD.
The crash reporting rule being changed has drawn criticism from
Musk as too burdensome and unfair. Tesla has reported many of
the total crashes under the rule in part because it is the
biggest seller of partial self-driving vehicles in the U.S.
Traffic safety watchdogs had feared that the Trump
administration would eliminate the reporting rule. The
transportation statement Thursday said reporting will be
loosened to “remove unnecessary and duplicative” requirements
but that the obligation to report crashes will remain.
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