US to explore allowing driverless cars without steering wheels
The head of the top U.S. auto safety regulator said the agency “absolutely” will consider ending requirements that driverless cars include steering wheels, a potential boon for Tesla Inc. and other robotaxi companies rethinking traditional vehicle design.
“If you’re developing a vehicle that is designed never to be driven by a human operator, it doesn’t make any sense to require manual controls,” Jonathan Morrison, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Thursday in a CNBC interview.
The comments follow NHTSA’s move last month to update federal safety standards to remove the mandate for manual brake pedals in autonomous vehicles. The changes, part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to modernize rules for driverless cars, could ease the path for purpose-built autonomous vehicles, including Tesla’s Cybercab, a two-seat electric car that lacks a steering wheel or foot pedals.
Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has advocated for policy changes that would support broad commercial deployment of self-driving vehicles, including calling for a federal framework for driverless cars. The automaker, which is working to stand up a robotaxi business, has started producing Cybercabs in recent months but has yet to deploy them broadly.
The robotaxi market includes a number of big-name players, including Amazon.com Inc.’s Zoox and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, the leading operator of paid robotaxi rides in the U.S.
Morrison didn’t specify timing or other details of any potential reevaluation of steering wheel rules. The brake pedal change would only apply to vehicles designed to operate exclusively without a human driver, while leaving existing rules unchanged for all other types of cars.
EPA proposes easing Biden heavy-truck emissions rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed easing heavy-truck and engine emissions regulations adopted under Democratic President Joe Biden in 2023 and will allow the sale of some engines that do not meet the tougher tailpipe rules.
The EPA said it was proposing to scale back emissions warranty requirements and provide additional lead time before longer regulatory useful life requirements take effect.
The EPA, which noted that some 2027 medium and heavy-duty engine development programs have experienced technical challenges, is proposing allowing manufacturers to continue to sell current products while they complete the development of 2027-compliant engines.
EPA said that even with its proposed changes, the decline in smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) still would be nearly 90% of the forecasted reductions under the Biden emission standards.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the existing requirements were unworkable, would drive up costs and result in fewer choices. He said the rule is estimated to save $12 billion, or as much as $6,000 per truck.
Environmental groups argue the proposed changes will increase pollution and harm public health.
“This Trump EPA proposal to weaken vital clean air protections will mean more health harms and higher costs,” said the Environmental Defense Fund in a statement. “EPA should abandon this proposal and instead maintain strong pollution safeguards for new heavy-duty vehicles.”
The EPA is proposing penalties for some heavy-duty diesel engines that temporarily cannot meet the Biden standards, while allowing sales to continue.
The Trump administration has taken a number of actions to reverse Biden rules to require more electric vehicles and cleaner vehicles.
Last month, the EPA sent the Republican-controlled Congress landmark California vehicle emissions rules for potential repeal, its latest effort to prevent tougher state tailpipe requirements.
The Trump administration has also enacted rules making it easier for automakers to sell more gasoline-powered cars and trucks, while making it more expensive to buy EVs.
The White House also significantly weakened federal tailpipe rules. Congress passed legislation in 2025 to stop collecting penalties for not meeting vehicle tailpipe standards, saving automakers hundreds of millions of dollars for selling vehicles that were not in compliance with pollution rules.
The EPA in February separately repealed a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, and eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 11:14 AM.