Cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in February have reportedly “disproportionately affected” employees working on vehicle automation safety, according to a report by The Financial Times.
The staff reductions, which led to the firing of approximately 30 individuals, primarily impacted those within NHTSA’s newly established vehicle automation safety division, formed in 2023.
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Many of the affected staff members were still in their probationary period, which could have contributed to their dismissal. One unnamed worker, who was let go during the cuts, told The Financial Times that the reduction in staff would “certainly weaken NHTSA’s ability to understand self-driving technologies.”
The timing of the cuts comes just months before Tesla’s planned launch of its first-ever robotaxi service in Austin. Musk has indicated that similar services could be rolled out in California and other states by the end of the year.
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However, these new developments come amidst a history of unfulfilled promises about the rapid deployment of automated vehicle technologies, leaving some to question the feasibility of Musk’s ambitious timeline.
