National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

New Capabilities

Actively investigating Tesla FSD

Tesla promised its robotaxis would be safer than human drivers. Seven months into its Austin pilot, the company's own crash reports tell a different story: one collision per 55,000 miles, roughly nine times worse than the human average. Every crash occurred with a trained safety monitor in the vehicle who could intervene—yet the system still failed. On February 3, 2026, Tesla executives defended the program before a Senate committee, insisting autonomous systems are safer than human drivers despite the data.

Updated Feb 5

New Capabilities

Granted Tesla extension to February 23, 2026 for FSD investigation response

For a century, auto insurers priced risk based on the driver: age, driving record, location. Lemonade's January 2026 partnership with Tesla represents the first major attempt to price risk based on which entity—human or software—is actually controlling the vehicle. Tesla owners using Full Self-Driving get a 50% rate reduction on miles driven with the system engaged, a discount five times larger than Tesla's own insurance offers. The product launched in Arizona on January 26, 2026, as scheduled.

Updated Jan 31

Rule Changes

Issuing revised CAFE standards for 2022–2031

On December 3, 2025, President Donald Trump unveiled a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposal to slash Biden‑era Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, cutting the projected 2031 light‑duty fleet target from about 50.4 miles per gallon to roughly 34.5 mpg and phasing in only 0.25–0.5% annual increases instead of the 2% per year previously planned. The rule would also bar automakers from trading efficiency credits after 2028, a change that especially hurts EV‑focused companies that sell credits to gasoline‑heavy manufacturers.

Updated Jan 2