Tesla has been given another month to explain how its Cybercab meets federal safety standards, after asking regulators for more time to prepare its response.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has extended Tesla’s deadline to October 30, 2026, giving the automaker an additional 30 days to respond to questions about the Cybercab’s safety certification.
Tesla had originally requested an eight-week extension, which would have pushed the deadline to November 20. However, NHTSA agreed to just half that amount, according to a memorandum dated September 29.
In its September 18 request, Tesla pointed to the “voluminous nature of the request,” along with the time needed to search records, review documents and put together detailed answers.
The extension is part of an audit opened by NHTSA in early September, the same day Tesla began using its purpose-built Cybercab to carry passengers in Austin.
Unlike a traditional vehicle, the Cybercab has no steering wheel, brake or accelerator pedals, or conventional side mirrors. Tesla has self-certified the two-seater as meeting all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), but regulators want to know exactly how the company reached that conclusion.
One of the biggest questions is whether Tesla determined that certain safety requirements don’t apply to a vehicle designed to operate without a human driver.
The audit covers approximately 1,000 Cybercabs, although only a small number were initially deployed in Austin. It is also separate from NHTSA’s ongoing investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software.
You can read the memorandum below.
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