Washington, D.C., February 17, 2025 – Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, has reduced the staffing of a key team at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) responsible for regulating autonomous vehicles, according to The Washington Post.
The move, which includes nearly half of the team, is part of a broader 10% reduction at the agency through firings, buyout offers, and the release of probationary workers.
The staffing cuts come as the NHTSA prepares for Tesla’s planned robotaxi launch in Austin later this year. The agency has conducted several investigations into Tesla following incidents that occurred while its Autopilot system was engaged. In October, NHTSA opened a new investigation into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software after four crashes in low-visibility conditions, one of which resulted in a pedestrian fatality.
Internal discussions reported by The Washington Post reveal that the reductions affected not only workers involved in crash test support and safety grant funding but also led to the elimination of three positions in a newly established office dedicated to overseeing autonomous vehicles. Sources cited by the Post suggested that these cuts could impair the federal government’s ability to assess the safety of Tesla’s vehicles.
NHTSA’s regulatory approach has also come under scrutiny from other companies in the autonomous vehicle industry, including Alphabet’s Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox, both of which are facing their own safety investigations related to their automated driving software.
TechCrunch has reached out to both NHTSA and DOGE for additional comment on the staffing changes and their potential impact on the agency’s oversight capabilities. As the autonomous vehicle industry continues to evolve, the effectiveness of federal regulation remains a subject of close attention among industry observers and policymakers alike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was prepared to hold elections within three months if the U.S. and Kyiv's other allies coul...
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia extended into a third day on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump said he would make a phone call to stop t...
Australia on Wednesday became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access to platforms including TikTok, Alphabet's Y...
A group of demonstrators gathered outside the Norwegian Nobel Institute to protest the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize....
Elon Musk's dream of sending humans to Mars is becoming increasingly tangible, with SpaceX working on groundbreaking technology to make interplanetary travel a reality. But will the ambitious timeline hold up?
Elon Musk’s bold vision for the future of technology doesn’t stop at reshaping space exploration or electric cars. The Neuralink brain-chip technology he introduced in 2020 could mark the end of smartphones as we know them, and his recent statements amplify this futuristic idea.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk won shareholder approval on Thursday for the largest corporate pay package in history as investors endorsed his vision of morphing the electric vehicle (EV) maker into an artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics juggernaut.
Tesla has told the Delaware Supreme Court that Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package should have been restored last year through a shareholder vote, as the company appeals a lower court ruling that rescinded the CEO’s record compensation.
Authorities in Japan lifted all tsunami warnings on Tuesday following a strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck off the northeastern coast late on Monday, injuring at least 30 people and forcing around 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Pressure is mounting between Venezuela and the United States as both nations emphasise military preparedness and strategic positioning.
A group of demonstrators gathered outside the Norwegian Nobel Institute to protest the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Tehran has protested to Washington because of the travel ban on its football team delegation as well as Iranian fans who would like to travel to the United States for the upcoming World Cup matches in 2026.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) has launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O). The escalation follows a high-stakes battle that had appeared to end last week when Netflix secured a $72 billion deal for the studio giant’s assets.
China has carried out a major test of a new “super wireless” rail convoy, a technology that could reshape the future of heavy-haul transport.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) has launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O). The escalation follows a high-stakes battle that had appeared to end last week when Netflix secured a $72 billion deal for the studio giant’s assets.
U.S. industrial production rose by 0.1% in September, rebounding after a decline in August, while capacity utilisation remained unchanged, according to Federal Reserve data on Wednesday.
Google’s YouTube has announced a “disappointing update” for millions of Australian users and creators, confirming it will comply with the country’s world-first ban on social media access for under-16s by locking affected users out of their accounts within days.
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow has signed the “On Virtual Assets” law, which will officially legalise cryptocurrency mining and exchange activities in the country from 1 January 2026.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment