A report shared over the weekend claims that the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump is looking to create a federal framework for self-driving vehicles—and to make the sector a top priority in the upcoming term.
Trump’s transition team is looking to create federal rules for the rollout of autonomous vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter in a report from Bloomberg on Sunday. The news comes as Tesla and others are developing and deploying autonomous vehicles, and as Elon Musk has officially been named a co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the Trump administration.
The sources also said that autonomy laws would be a major priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation after past efforts to increase the number of available permits for self-driving vehicles have been thwarted. According to additional people familiar with the matter who spoke under the condition of anonymity, the Trump team is also actively looking to find policy leaders to help develop the guidelines.
Currently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) lets manufacturers deploy as many as 2,500 self-driving vehicles per year under a granted exemption, though attempts to increase allowed units to 100,000 have been unsuccessful. Self-driving vehicles without a steering wheel or accelerator pedals—such as Tesla’s recently unveiled Cybercab—aren’t currently permitted to be deployed en masse, but many think that such a move from Trump could accelerate the deployment of the technology.
Tesla, Waymo, and others developing self-driving vehicles
Currently, Tesla owners can purchase and use the company’s Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) to access semi-autonomous driving, though drivers are expected to be attentive and prepared to retake control of the vehicle at any moment. Tesla also unveiled its two-seat Cybercab last month, expected to be based on FSD and to enter production in 2026.
Below you can see our first ride in the Cybercab from the We, Robot unveiling event.
🎥: Our FULL first ride in the @Tesla Cybercab pic.twitter.com/6gR7OgKRCz— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 11, 2024
While Tesla doesn’t currently operate a paid ride-hailing service like the Alphabet-owned Waymo, or others working toward this model, the company has teased an app based on an FSD ride-hailing service in the past. Additionally, many within the Tesla community claim that FSD will be more scalable than its competitors, due in part to its training of an AI neural network using millions of clips of real-time driving footage from FSD Supervised users.
Other companies such as Amazon-owned Zoox, General Motors-run (GM-run) Cruise, and still many others have also deployed driverless ride-hailing services to varying degrees of success. While California has been one of a few states where self-driving services have been able to start deployment in limited quantities, autonomous driving has also come under fire from regulators and authorities following a few cases of accidents and traffic violations.
Nonetheless, the development of a federal framework for autonomous vehicles could affect how this happens on a national level—and it will likely come to the benefit of Musk and Tesla, especially given the CEO’s closeness with Trump.
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Elon Musk and Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency
Musk will lead Trump’s newly created DOGE division in tandem with Vivek Ramaswamy, with the department aiming to “dismantle government bureaucracy” and cut down on government spending. The Tesla CEO initially endorsed Trump in July during his presidential campaign, later forming the political action committee (PAC) America PAC in support of the now-President-elect.
In addition to the financial support, Musk was a vocal backer of Trump’s campaign at rallies and in online media appearances, saying last month that Trump “must win to preserve the Constitution and democracy.” Many have also debated whether Trump’s removal of the federal $7,500 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit would be bad for Tesla and other EV makers, though Musk has said that it will likely only benefit Tesla.
The recent support for Trump also follows an ongoing set of feuds Musk has had with President Joe Biden during his presidency, as was sparked by Tesla not being invited to the administration’s EV summit, and by Biden claiming that GM had been the leader in EV deployment. Musk said in July that Biden is “utterly controlled” by the United Automotive Workers (UAW), following multiple criticisms of the union in the past.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Former Tesla executive warns of delays to European ADAS regulations
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) showed a record attach rate at delivery for new vehicles in the third quarter of 2026.
75 percent of new vehicle deliveries in North America included a subscription to FSD software, up from 55 percent in the prior quarter, a 20-percentage-point sequential gain in the company’s most mature market.
Tesla Q3 2026 Earnings results: in-line revenues, slight beat on EPS
Tesla shed light on the Q3 Shareholder Deck that 75 percent of new deliveries came with an FSD subscription:
“FSD (Supervised)⁴ attach rate continued to grow, reaching over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in North America – our most mature market – a nearly twenty percentage point sequential increase. We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets. “
The higher attach rate accompanied strong growth in the overall FSD consumer base, as active subscriptions rose to 1.75 million, a 67 percent year-over-year increase. For the first time, more than half of paid customers are on the monthly subscription, which is priced at $99 per month in the U.S.
People are buying FSD with a car attached, not the other way around
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2026
The transition to subscriptions has accelerated since Tesla discontinued the one-time purchase option in most markets earlier this year. The recurring model improves revenue visibility and margins compared with large upfront payments. With three-quarters of North American deliveries now including FSD, the software is now an evidently large contributor to Tesla’s economics and ancillary revenue.
Geographic expansion remains important for further gains. FSD is now available in nine countries in the EU, and more than 100,000 customers have driven over 160 million kilometers. Tesla is pursuing broader EU-wide approval, with a related vote expected in December. Similar progress in additional markets could support higher attach rates beyond North America.
These results came as Tesla had a strong quarterly delivery performance of 486,532 vehicles in the quarter, which came with its largest passenger-vehicle backlog in four years. Battery supply continued to limit volume, but the company has pointed to FSD as a clear difference-maker that is helping sustain demand. As supervised capabilities improve, the attach rate will likely continue to improve.
At face value, it is a key measure of how Tesla is converting sales into autonomy progress.
Update: 10/22 10:51a – Para 1 consumers changed to “customers” for accuracy.
Tesla Cybercab units finally got a definitive date for when they will be able to be purchased by customers, ending speculation regarding whether the fully autonomous vehicle would be available in the near term.
During Tesla’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 21, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy said the company is aiming to begin delivering its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi to customers before year-end.
🚨 In short, Cybercabs are slated to go to customers by end of the year. All units are going into Robotaxi fleet currently, per @larsmoravy
Cybercab will be “transport-as-a-service,” but vast majority of Cybercab will be “Tesla-owned,” @elonmusk says https://t.co/R8Qu8QWdmp
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 21, 2026
“We’re trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, 2026,” Moravy said. He added that production is underway on the line at Gigafactory Texas, but “all of those are currently going to our own internal Robotaxi fleet.”
Moravy explained that as operations scale, Tesla will “mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers,” with the Cybercab as the first such vehicle. Initial customer deliveries will start small while the company gains experience with delivery logistics, ownership models, fleet management, and operating autonomous vehicles outside its direct control.
CEO Elon Musk reinforced the limited nature of private sales, describing the Cybercab primarily as a “transport-as-a-service” offering rather than a personal ownership vehicle like the Model 3, Model Y, or upcoming Roadster. “The vast majority of the Cybercab stuff will be Tesla-owned and transport-as-a-service,” Musk said.
The Cybercab is a two-seater vehicle developed by Tesla without a steering wheel or pedals. It relies completely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite and has been in production since February. Early units have been put in Tesla’s Robotaxi service as of early September, when the company launched rides to the public. Tesla previously indicated it would aim to sell Cybercabs for about $30,000.
Unsupervised Full Self-Driving is expected to ship to consumer cars during Q2 2027, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Head of AI, indicated during the call. Early buyers or fleet operators may receive vehicles whose autonomous operation remains geographically restricted due to lagging regulatory agencies. There are some hurdles that remain ahead of Cybercab deliveries.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the third quarter of 2026, marking a reasonable performance on the various financial metrics. Tesla still plans to hold a call that will field investor questions at 5:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. CT.
Here’s where Earnings came in:
- Total Revenues: $28.046 reported vs. $28.34B expected
- Non-GAAP EPS: $0.48 reported vs. $0.45 expected
- Operating Margin: 2.6 % reported vs. 2.5% expected
- Operating Income: $718M reported vs. $721M expected
- Free Cash Flow: $1.531B reported vs. ~-$4.51B expected
Tesla $TSLA Earnings Results:
Revenues: $28.046B
Non-GAAP EPS: $0.48
Operating Margin: 2.6%
Operating Income: $718M
FCF: $1.531B— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 21, 2026
Major Takeaways
Full Self-Driving (Supervised)
“FSD (Supervised)⁴ attach rate continued to grow, reaching over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in North America – our most mature market – a nearly twenty percentage point sequential increase. We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets.”
Tesla Semi
“We began volume production of Tesla Semi, our Class 8 heavy-duty truck. The top variant can go 500 miles at full 82,000 lbs gross combination weight while achieving an efficiency of 1.7 kWh/mile. That efficiency allows the Tesla Semi to use a third of the energy used by a comparable diesel truck to haul the same payload. In a transportation market where energy is one of the largest components of total cost per mile, this will provide a meaningful advantage to Tesla Semi operators.”
SI Compute
“We plan to reach 400 MW of SI training compute by the end of the year, supporting the development of both vehicle and humanoid robot autonomy software. Additionally, we continued construction for the Austin Fab, where we plan to start commissioning equipment in 2027.”
Robotaxi
“We began deployment of Cybercab into our Robotaxi fleet in Austin. We reached nearly two million cumulative unsupervised miles for our Robotaxi service as of the end of the quarter. Operating hours in Austin are now 6am to midnight, and we expect to reduce wait times via increased fleet supply and improvement of Robotaxi orchestration algorithms. Grok is available in Cybercab with access to Grok Bot and Connectors, which allows users to manage their inbox, calendars, files, chats and tasks – all hands free via voice command – making Cybercab a mode of transport, a productivity space and, with our entertainment options, a second living room.”
Interested in ordering a Tesla? Use my referral code for three free months of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) here.
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Tesla Cybercab gets a for sale date at last
