The U.S. regulator opened its audit on the same day that Tesla began charging for its rides in Austin, on a fleet of about 1,000 vehicles.
The NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigation opened the AQ26002 audit on September 3, 2026, hours after the Cybercab paid races launched in Austin. About a thousand vehicles are affected.
The purpose of the test is not the robotaxi's driving quality but the procedure followed beforehand. The Cybercab has no steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors — all of which most federal safety standards take for granted. The regulator wants to look at the technical data and reasoning that Tesla relied on to certify itself, and in particular the cases where the manufacturer deemed that a certain standard simply did not apply to its vehicle.
The American system is based on self-certification: a manufacturer itself attests to the conformity of its vehicle, with the regulator checking afterwards. Tesla maintains that its vehicles comply with all applicable standards and intends to gradually extend the service to other cities.
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