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The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cut a
“modest” amount of positions, according to a statement from the
agency. Musk has accused NHTSA of holding back progress on
self-driving technology with its investigations and recalls.
Asked about whether the cuts would impact any probes into Tesla,
the agency referred to its statement that says it will “enforce
the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment.”
The job cuts at NHTSA enacted by Musk's advisory group on
shrinking the federal government, the Department of Government
Efficiency, was earlier reported by The Washington Post.
In addition to investigations into Tesla’s partially automated
vehicles, NHTSA has mandated that Tesla and other automakers
using self-driving technology report crash data on vehicles, a
requirement that Tesla has criticized and that watchdogs fear
could be eliminated.
The staff reductions have come through a combination of firings,
buyouts and layoffs. The agency noted in its statement that the
Biden administration had expanded its payroll, suggesting the
smaller staff was sufficient to carry out its mission.
“Even with these modest efficiencies, NHTSA is still
considerably larger today than it was four years ago,” the
statement said. “We have retained positions critical to the
mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing
economic costs due to road traffic crashes.”
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