NHTSA escalates Cybercab audit into a sworn Special Order, gives Tesla until Sept. 30 to explain certification

# What happened

Order that requires a Tesla officer to sign a sworn affidavit attesting to the completeness of the company's responses. The order sets a September 30 deadline.

NHTSA first opened Audit Query AQ26002 on September 3, the same day Tesla began commercial Cybercab service in Austin. That audit sought information about how Tesla certified the vehicle given the absence of permanently attached conventional controls: no steering wheel, no accelerator or brake pedals, and no mirrors.

# What the Special Order asks for

Order formalizes the fact-finding process. It contains 21 requests that probe the factual and legal basis for Tesla's self-certification decisions. Several requests aim at a specific design gap: whether Tesla ever used temporarily attached human controls during the certification process and, if so, which Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards depended on that equipment.

One request quotes a regulatory requirement directly: "The service brakes shall be activated by means of a foot control." Cybercab has no foot pedal, and NHTSA wants a detailed, under-oath explanation of how the vehicle satisfies that requirement without relying on exemptions such as the Part 555 pathway used for Zoox.

# What the Special Order means legally

A Special Order converts an audit into a legally enforceable demand. It requires sworn responses and attaches an officer's name to the company's certification logic. The order does not itself claim the vehicle is unsafe or that Tesla has violated a rule. Instead, it requires Tesla to explain the reasoning behind certifications it already made.

That distinction matters procedurally, but the exposure is significant. Reporting summarized in the coverage of related reporting put potential civil penalty exposure as high as $139 million if NHTSA later finds the certification flawed. There is also criminal risk tied to false statements made under oath.

# Current status and next steps

Tesla has not publicly stated how it will respond to the Special Order. Cybercab vehicles continue carrying passengers in Austin through the Robotaxi app, and Tesla has continued expanding the vehicle's footprint while the regulatory question remains open.

# What to watch

• Tesla's sworn responses by the September 30 deadline and whether an officer signs an affidavit asserting completeness.
• Any follow-on NHTSA actions: additional inquiries, formal investigations, or enforcement notices.
• Whether NHTSA concludes Tesla used temporary human controls during certification and how that affects applicability of specific Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

This matter is a procedural escalation: it forces Tesla to explain, under oath, the legal and factual basis for certifying a vehicle that lacks several conventional, permanently attached human controls.