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
A Tesla upfitter has offered to take over Cybertruck lines from the company in a last-ditch effort to save the all-electric pickup from being completely canceled in the middle of 2027.
Unplugged Performance, the Hawthorne, California-based Tesla aftermarket specialist, has publicly offered to take over Cybertruck production from Tesla, funding the effort “through a consortium of investors.”
An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands.
We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn.
Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built.
We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond.
Worth a conversation?— UP (@UnpluggedTesla) November 10, 2026
The proposal comes as Tesla prioritizes its Cybercab Robotaxi program and prepares to wind down Cybertruck assembly at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027.
Founded in 2013 by Ben Schaffer and located adjacent to Tesla’s Design Studio and SpaceX, Unplugged Performance has become a leading provider of premium upgrades for Tesla vehicles, including extensive Cybertruck packages under its UP INVINCIBLE line.
Through its UP.FIT division, the company has also developed purpose-built police and fleet versions of the Cybertruck, including deliveries to agencies such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
In an X post on Tuesday, Unplugged said:
“An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands. We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn. Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built. We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond. Worth a conversation?”
The arrangement would free Tesla resources and manufacturing capacity for Cybercab while allowing continued production of the stainless-steel pickup and expanded variants. Unplugged Performance indicated it would wait for battery cells after Cybercab needs are met and would generate ongoing revenue for Tesla through licensing and software/network services on the vehicles it produces.
Following strong initial interest, Unplugged Performance posted a follow-up inviting potential investors and strategic partners to email cyber@unpluggedperformance.com. The company clarified that the outreach is solely to gauge interest and does not constitute an offer to sell securities or acceptance of funds at this stage.
The proposal arrives shortly after Elon Musk indicated that Cybertruck production in Texas would be phased out by roughly the middle of 2027 to expand Cybercab output.
Whether Tesla engages with the offer remains to be seen, but the public overture highlights both the aftermarket specialist’s deep experience with the Cybertruck platform and the growing focus on autonomy within Tesla’s manufacturing plans.
Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”
Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.
Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.
Dodge ended the Viper.
Audi retired the R8.
Mitsubishi said goodbye to the Lancer Evo.
Ford bid farewell to the Bronco (at one point).
Chevrolet sunset the Camaro.Tesla is ending the Cybertruck. I’m pissed. I’m upset.
Fans of those five automakers mentioned did the same thing. It happens. It sucks. I don’t like it.
But I still love Tesla. I love my Model Y. I hoped to be in a Cybertruck in a little under two years.
I won’t be. But I still won’t put my family in anything else. Too safe. Too advanced. Too much better than everything else.
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.
But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.
As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.
The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.
Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.
After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.
Tesla has stopped taking orders for the Cybertruck Premium AWD.
The Cyberbeast is now the only trim you can order, and its price went up $7,500 to $109,990.
Estimated deliveries have also slipped to March–June 2027 as the Giga Texas line heads toward its mid-2027 wind-down. https://t.co/o28epA0ZQl
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.
Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.
Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.
Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.
Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.
Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing
Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.
Tesla upfitter offers to keep Cybertruck alive
Elon Musk says Tesla Cybercab future is ‘obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain’
