Feds launch investigation into Tesla’s Cybercab deployment

JUST IN: US federal regulators open an investigation into Tesla's Cybercab, just hours after the company put its first production robotaxis on the road in Austin.

Tesla's Cybercab lasted a few hours on the road before the feds came knocking.

Friday morning, Tesla put its first production robotaxis on the streets of Austin. No steering wheel, no pedals, nobody in the driver's seat. By the time most of Texas had finished breakfast, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it was opening an investigation into that exact decision.

Here's why it matters. Federal safety rules still require manual controls like brake pedals. The Department of Transportation has proposed scrapping that requirement for autonomous vehicles, proposed being the key word. Tesla didn't wait. It told regulators it self-certified the Cybercab as fully compliant, which is normal practice for carmakers, except most carmakers include a steering wheel.

So Elon Musk shipped a car with no controls under rules that still demand them, and now Washington gets to decide whether that was bold or illegal. The robotaxis are on the road. The question is how long they stay there.

This is Dave King, reporting for HIT.