DOGE’s long shadow. In February 2025, DOGE ordered sweeping layoffs at NHTSA. The cuts affected 4% of the agency’s 800 employees, including engineers who specialize in self-driving safety.
Three of the seven experts tasked exclusively with writing regulations for the Cybercab and Tesla vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems were among those laid off.
A thorn in Tesla’s side. The NHTSA currently has eight open investigations into Tesla, many related to its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. According to The Verge, these investigations have often led to recalls or software updates to fix critical bugs.
One dismissed employee told the Financial Times that the layoffs would “weaken NHTSA’s ability to understand self-driving technologies. This is an office that should be on the cutting edge of how to handle AVs [autonomous vehicles] and figuring out what future rulemaking should look like. It would be ironic if Doge slowed down Tesla.”
Elon Musk Laid Off Thousands of Federal Employees. China and Russia Want to Recruit Them as Spies
Musk has a lot at stake with the autonomous car. Tesla plans to launch a fleet of robotaxis in Austin this summer and begin production of its Cybercab model next year. These vehicles will have no steering wheels or pedals and will require special regulatory approvals, including those from the AV STEP program administered by NHTSA. Without adequate staffing, the agency may not finalize those regulations in time.
“Letting DOGE fire those in the autonomous division is sheer madness—we should be lobbying to add people to NHTSA. They need to be developing a national framework for AVs, otherwise Tesla doesn’t have a prayer for scale in FSD or robotaxis,” a Tesla executive told the Financial Times.
Tesla’s future is autonomous. The robotaxi concept lies at the heart of Tesla’s long-term strategy. Musk is betting on the model as an affordable, sustainable solution for urban transport. He argues it could drastically cut operating costs by eliminating the need for human drivers.
The approach positions Tesla in direct competition with companies like Waymo (Alphabet) and Zoox (Amazon), both of which are already operating self-driving fleets in cities like San Francisco.
Suspicion of conflict of interest. This isn’t the first time concerns about a conflict of interest have surfaced regarding Musk’s dual role as entrepreneur and government official. Allegations began when DOGE slashed resources at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission—agencies tasked with overseeing SpaceX and Starlink.
Similar concerns resurfaced when DOGE dismissed officials from the U.S. Labor Inspectorate during an ongoing investigation into the death of a worker at a Tesla factory. According to The Guardian, Democratic senators have since introduced a bill addressing Musk’s potential conflicts of interest as the head of DOGE.
Image | Gage Skidmore | Tesla
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