The most critical issue regarding Tesla's Robotaxi, Musk avoided it

Tesla's self-driving taxi will have a steering wheel and pedals? Musk won't say.

Overnight, Musk avoided several questions during the earnings call, regarding the status of the company's long-promised self-driving cars, including whether they have traditional control devices such as pedals and steering wheels.

This question is crucial for Tesla's highly anticipated RoboTaxi plan, which has been delayed for more prototype design work. In theory, vehicles without steering wheels and pedals may take months or even years to be approved for public roads. In contrast, vehicles equipped with more traditional control devices may hit the market faster.

Radical design requires federal approval

Tesla acknowledged in a letter to shareholders that it does need federal approval to deploy a more radical design for robot taxis.

While the deployment timeline of RoboTaxi depends on technological progress and regulatory approvals, given its enormous potential value, we are actively seizing this opportunity.

However, when asked about specific approvals Tesla will seek, Musk refused to provide details.

Specifically, when asked whether "Tesla will seek an exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to deploy vehicles without traditional control devices," he evaded the question. His response compared Tesla's "universal solution" to Waymo's more "localized" solution, which he called "quite fragile."

"Our solution is a universal solution that can be used anywhere," he added. "It can even work on another planet."

Currently, FMVSS requires vehicles to be equipped with basic manual control devices such as steering wheels, pedals, and side mirrors. These standards dictate how vehicles must be designed before being sold in the United States. If the proposed new vehicle does not meet all existing FMVSS, manufacturers can apply for exemptions. However, the government only allows each company to obtain 2500 exemptions per year.

In theory, the exemption cap would prevent any self-driving company (including Tesla) from deploying dedicated self-driving vehicles on a large scale. Advocates for self-driving cars are trying to eliminate the cap through legislation to allow more autonomous vehicles on the road, but the bill is stalled due to concerns about liability and readiness for the technology.

How have other companies overcome this?

So far, only one company has obtained an FMVSS exemption: Nuro. The company uses these exemptions to deploy a small number of unmanned delivery robots in Texas and California. Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, requested an exemption for its Origin self-driving taxi without a steering wheel and pedals, but never received approval, and the project is now indefinitely shelved. Amazon's Zoox claims that its self-driving taxi is "self-certified," prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate what this meansOther companies choose to completely bypass the exemption process. Waymo's self-driving cars are equipped with traditional controls, even though they operate on public roads without safety drivers. The company has stated that it will eventually introduce a car without a steering wheel, but has not yet indicated when or if it will seek FMVSS exemptions.

All of this indicates that if Tesla decides to abandon traditional controls, it will face similar regulatory hurdles. Some design drawings show areas of the vehicle without a steering wheel, which could be a hint.

Some critics are dismissive of Tesla's progress with Robotaxi, pointing out that Waymo provides nearly 50,000 trips to passengers per week, while Musk continues to make vague promises about vehicles that may never exist.

Musk has clearly placed his bet on Tesla, emphasizing repeatedly that Tesla is an artificial intelligence company, not just a traditional car company. However, he is unwilling to publicly address the real obstacles the company may face in achieving this vision.

The answer may have to wait until the October RoboTaxi event, or even later to know.