Trump DOT proposes dropping brake pedals for autonomous vehicles

The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation has taken a significant step toward reshaping the regulatory landscape for autonomous vehicles. On Wednesday, the DOT proposed eliminating the federal requirement for brake pedals in vehicles built exclusively for automated driving systems. If finalized, this change would remove one of the last major hurdles for companies designing purpose-built driverless cars that lack traditional human controls.

The proposal revises Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 135, which currently mandates hand- or foot-operated brake controls in all vehicles. Under the new rule, vehicles that will never have a human driver would no longer need these components. However, other critical braking performance standards, such as stopping distance requirements, would remain unchanged. The public now has 30 days to submit comments before the DOT decides on final approval.

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison characterized the move as a pivotal moment in automotive history. “We are at the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T,” Morrison stated, adding that NHTSA is “tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter.”

Tesla stands to benefit most from this proposal. The company has been developing the Cybercab, a two-seat vehicle designed to operate without a steering wheel or pedals. Production began at Tesla’s Texas factory in early 2026, and the company has been running a small robotaxi service in Austin. However, that fleet currently uses retrofitted Model Y vehicles with standard controls. Tesla has never applied for an exemption from the FMVSS standards; instead, it has waited for the rules themselves to change.

Amazon’s Zoox is another major beneficiary. The company received a demonstration exemption from NHTSA in August 2025 for its purpose-built robotaxi, which also lacks a steering wheel and pedals. Zoox is now awaiting a separate commercial exemption that would allow it to charge riders. The current exemption system caps deployment at 2,500 vehicles per year, so removing the underlying FMVSS requirement would eliminate that ceiling entirely.

Companies like Waymo, which modify conventional vehicles that retain steering wheels and pedals, already operate without needing exemptions. Waymo now conducts over 500,000 paid rides per week across 10 U. S. cities. The proposed rule does not affect vehicles with manual controls.

This brake pedal proposal is the latest in a series of FMVSS updates under the Trump DOT. Earlier this year, NHTSA proposed removing requirements for windshield wiping and defogging systems, transmission shift displays, and tire placards on vehicles equipped with automated driving systems. The Biden administration laid some groundwork in 2022 when NHTSA finalized a rule updating occupant protection standards to accommodate vehicles without steering wheels.

Currently, any company building an autonomous vehicle that omits parts required by the FMVSS must request an individual exemption from the federal government. Even when granted, regulations limit how many exempted vehicles can be on the road. The pattern of removing outdated equipment mandates for driverless vehicles has been ongoing for years, but targeting the brake pedal marks the most functionally significant change so far.

Tesla’s Austin robotaxi service has not been without incidents. According to TechCrunch, the company disclosed two crashes involving teleoperators who were remotely controlling the vehicles at low speeds. Tesla has admitted to NHTSA that it uses teleoperators to monitor and, in rare cases, move vehicles remotely after crashes or to avoid obstacles.

The rule remains a proposal, not a final regulation, and could face opposition during the public comment period. Safety advocates may argue that removing physical controls reduces fallback options during system failures. Whether the DOT finalizes the change will determine how quickly companies like Tesla can deploy their purpose-built robotaxis at scale, without navigating the exemption process one vehicle at a time.