In February, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dismissed approximately 30 employees from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), many of whom were part of the team responsible for evaluating the risks associated with self-driving vehicles, as reported by the Financial Times.
A former employee from NHTSA’s “office of vehicle automation safety” expressed concerns to the FT that the actions taken by DOGE might "diminish NHTSA’s capacity to comprehend self-driving technologies." Another ex-employee pointed out the "irony" that these layoffs could potentially hinder Tesla’s progress in developing autonomous vehicles.
These dismissals occurred just a few months after NHTSA introduced a new framework aimed at potentially reducing regulations for self-driving cars. In return, companies would be required to provide more data to the regulatory body.
