The federal authority in charge of traffic safety, which has been delving into whether Tesla’s self-driving technology contributed to a pedestrian’s death, announced a 4% staff reduction on February 14, according to a spokesperson from the Transportation Department on Saturday.
Although the traffic agency didn’t specify if any of the dismissed employees were part of the Tesla investigations, it’s known that Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, is spearheading a team at the Department of Government Efficiency, a body launched by President Trump. Musk’s team has been advocating for staff cuts across various government bodies as part of a broader attempt to overhaul the federal bureaucracy. Despite these responsibilities, Musk continues to manage Tesla while dedicating significant time to activities in Washington.
Documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveal that there are three ongoing investigations related to Tesla. One of these probes is focused on assessing whether Tesla’s autonomous driving software struggles with functionality under poor visibility conditions.
The Washington Post initially reported about the layoffs at this traffic agency, which employs under 1,000 people. Despite the recent job cuts, the agency claims its current workforce is still larger than it was at the outset of the Biden administration. “Under the previous administration, NHTSA expanded by an impressive 30%,” the agency pointed out in a statement.
They continued, “We have preserved roles that are crucial to our mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and bringing down economic burdens associated with road traffic incidents. Our commitment to enforcing regulations on all vehicle and equipment manufacturers remains steadfast.”
Attempts to get a comment from Tesla went unanswered.
Among the issues being investigated is a series of four accidents involving Tesla’s so-called supervised full self-driving technology. This system is capable of steering, braking, and guiding Tesla vehicles under certain conditions. Unfortunately, one of these incidents involved a Tesla striking and killing a pedestrian, and another resulted in injuries.
Tesla’s self-driving tech primarily uses cameras to scan its surroundings, which is different from other companies like Waymo, a Google affiliate, that incorporate lasers and radar for object detection.
The traffic safety agency is investigating if Tesla’s system faltered during low visibility conditions, such as those caused by sun glare, fog, or dust. Musk frequently asserts that Tesla’s self-driving capabilities surpass human-driving safety standards.
This technology is pivotal to Tesla’s future and stock value. With a slight dip in Tesla’s sales last year, falling 1% despite a 25% growth in the global electric vehicle market, Musk is aiming to steer the company more towards autonomous driving solutions and has plans for a self-driving taxi service.
Musk recently told investors that this innovation will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company globally by a wide margin.
Mark Walker contributed to the reporting.
