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Certified by its maker. Audited that day.
Federal regulators opened an audit of Tesla's Cybercab certification as commercial deployment began in Austin. The inquiry examines the basis for certification, not an announced recall.
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Tesla began commercial Cybercab deployment in Austin on the same day federal regulators opened an audit query into its certification. The NHTSA document says the agency will examine the process and technical data Tesla relied on.
Tesla told the agency its vehicles complied with applicable federal safety standards. That is the manufacturer's certification position. The audit is the regulator's examination of the basis for that position.
The controls are part of the question
NHTSA records that the vehicles lack permanently attached conventional controls, including pedals and a steering wheel. The agency says it will examine whether Tesla's certification depended on treating some standards as inapplicable.
Proposed changes to manual-control requirements do not themselves replace existing standards. The agency's account says the current requirements remain applicable while that work proceeds.
An audit is not a recall
The document identifies an open audit query. It does not announce a recall or a defect finding. The estimated population in the query should also not be confused with the small number of vehicles initially deployed in Austin.
Zoox's separate exemption process provides context, not proof that Tesla has the same authorization. Each manufacturer's certification or exemption needs to be read through its own record.
The unanswered compliance question
The audit's findings would establish what regulators conclude about Tesla's technical basis. Opening the inquiry establishes scrutiny, not its outcome. The commercial rollout and the unresolved federal examination coexist in this record.
Sources for this story
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, opening resume for Audit Query AQ26002
- Electrek, Tesla Cybercab already under NHTSA investigation over FMVSS certification
- TechCrunch, Feds launch investigation into Tesla's Cybercab deployment
- 49 CFR 555.1, Purpose and scope, Cornell Legal Information Institute
Claim-by-claim verification · 24 claims
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened an Audit Query numbered AQ26002 into Tesla's Cybercab certification.
OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION Investigation: AQ26002
The audit query was opened on September 3rd, 2026.
Investigation: AQ26002 Prompted By: Public Information Date Opened: 09/03/2026
The action NHTSA took is an Open Audit Query rather than a defect investigation or a recall.
Action: Open Audit Query (AQ)
The audit query names Tesla, Inc. as the manufacturer and Tesla Cybercab vehicles as the products under examination.
Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc. Products: Tesla Cybercab vehicles
The audit query covers an estimated population of 1,000 vehicles.
Population: 1,000 (Estimated)
NHTSA states the purpose of the audit as an examination of the process and technical data Tesla relied on when certifying the Cybercab.
Problem Description: Examination of the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues.
Tesla began commercial deployment of a small number of Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas on September 3rd, 2026.
On September 3, 2026, Tesla began commercial deployment with a small number of its Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas.
Tesla told NHTSA that it had certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Tesla notified the Agency that it certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
Tesla also told NHTSA it plans to expand the deployment gradually to more vehicles and more locations.
Tesla also notified the Agency that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.
NHTSA records that the vehicles have no permanently attached conventional manual controls, naming a brake pedal, a gas pedal, a steering wheel and mirrors.
The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors.
NHTSA says it will consider how far Tesla's certification rested on determinations that certain standards do not apply to the Cybercab at all.
Among other things, NHTSA will consider the extent to which Tesla's certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.
Reporting confirms the audit was opened the same day Tesla began carrying passengers in Austin.
NHTSA opened an audit into how Tesla certified the vehicle the same day the company started putting passengers in it in Austin.
Reporting identifies the action as an Open Audit Query numbered AQ26002 from NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
The investigation is an Open Audit Query, numbered AQ26002, from NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Reporting independently gives the covered fleet as an estimated 1,000 Cybercab vehicles.
covers an estimated 1,000 Cybercab vehicles
Many of the federal standards were written around a human driver and assume controls the driver can reach, none of which the Cybercab has.
They assume there's a steering wheel, a brake pedal, side mirrors, and controls the driver can reach. The Cybercab has none of those.
NHTSA announced the probe on the Friday morning after Tesla put the first Cybercabs on Austin streets.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Friday morning that it opened the probe mere hours after Tesla put the first Cybercabs on the streets of Austin, Texas.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the agency supports automated vehicles and has to ensure the laws are followed.
NHTSA fully supports the safe development and deployment of automated vehicles. But as the federal regulator, we need to ensure that all of our laws are followed.
Federal rules require manual controls such as brake pedals, and the Department of Transportation has recently proposed removing that requirement for vehicles designed to drive themselves.
Federal vehicle safety regulations require manual controls like brake pedals, though the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing those requirements for vehicles that are designed to be autonomously driven.
NHTSA says the standards on manual controls are being rewritten, and that until the work is finished the existing standards still apply.
Until that work is completed, however, existing standards remain in force.
Zoox self-certified its robotaxi in 2022, a vehicle that also lacks a steering wheel and pedals.
In 2022, Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company Zoox self-certified its cube-like robotaxi, which lacks traditional controls such as a steering wheel and pedals.
Zoox later filed for a temporary Part 555 exemption from eight Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards so it could charge for rides.
Zoox then went through the official process and filed for a temporary Part 555 exemption from eight Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in hopes it would get the final OK that would allow it to charge for robotaxi rides.
Zoox received final approval for that exemption in July 2026.
Zoox received final approval for that exemption in July 2026, eliminating one of the last remaining regulatory hurdles the company needed to clear before launching a commercial robotaxi service.
Part 555 is the rule under which NHTSA grants a temporary exemption from one or more federal motor vehicle safety standards.
This part establishes requirements for the temporary exemption by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of certain motor vehicles from compliance with one or more Federal motor vehicle safety standards
Any interested person may petition NHTSA's Administrator to start a proceeding on whether a motor vehicle fails to comply with an applicable federal motor vehicle safety standard.
Any interested person may file with the Administrator a petition requesting him: (a) To commence a proceeding respecting the issuance, amendment or revocation of a motor vehicle safety standard, or (b) To commence a proceeding to decide whether to issue an order concerning the notification and remedy of a failure of a motor vehicle or item of replacement equipment to comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard or a defect in such vehicle or equipment that relates to motor vehicle safety.