The Trump administration's Department of Transportation has proposed scrapping the federal requirement for brake pedals in vehicles "designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems" — a change that would clear a major regulatory hurdle for purpose-built robotaxis from Tesla and Amazon's Zoox.
What the Proposal Would Change
Under current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), any autonomous vehicle missing required controls such as a brake pedal or steering wheel must obtain a federal exemption — and even then, regulations cap how many such vehicles can operate. The DOT's proposal would remove the brake-pedal mandate for fully driverless designs, letting companies put them on public roads faster. The public has 30 days to comment before the department decides whether to finalize the rule.
A Boost for Purpose-Built Robotaxis
The change is tailor-made for vehicles like Tesla's two-seat Cybercab, which is engineered without a steering wheel or pedals. Tesla has never applied for an FMVSS exemption, with CEO Elon Musk repeatedly saying the company would deploy the cars once approval arrived. Tesla currently runs a small robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, where it has gradually removed safety drivers while acknowledging it uses teleoperators to monitor and occasionally move vehicles after incidents.
Where Other Operators Stand
Zoox secured an FMVSS exemption last year to demonstrate its purpose-built robotaxi and is awaiting a second to operate commercially. Waymo, by contrast, retrofits conventional vehicles like the Jaguar I-Pace that already carry manual controls, so it can deploy as many as it wants today. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison framed the move as removing "pointless barriers to innovative designs," part of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's broader AV framework. The proposal follows earlier Trump-era moves to drop rules on windshield wiping systems and tire placards, and builds on a Biden-era rule that allowed AVs without steering wheels.
The shift could accelerate a market already racing toward scale. See our related coverage of Zoox's redesigned robotaxi, the first global autonomous-driving rules from UNECE, and Waymo and Uber's split in Phoenix.
Reporting based on coverage from TechCrunch.