(Bloomberg) — Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team told advisers they plan to make a federal framework for fully autonomous vehicles one of the Transportation Department’s priorities, according to officials. people close to the case.

If new rules allow cars without human control, it would directly benefit Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. and a Trump mega-donor who has become a powerful element in the president-elect’s inner circle. He bet the electric vehicle maker’s future on self-driving technology and artificial intelligence.

Current federal rules pose significant hurdles for companies seeking to deploy vehicles without steering wheels or pedals in large quantities, which Tesla plans to do. The Trump team is seeking political leadership for the department to develop a framework to regulate autonomous vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A bipartisan measure is also being discussed in Congress that would create federal rules around AVs, two of the people said.

One of the candidates under consideration for Transportation secretary is Emil Michael, a former Uber Technologies Inc. executive who has spoken with Trump’s team and potential staffers, they said. declared. The work is in its early stages and policy details have yet to be determined, they said.

Republican Reps. Sam Graves of Missouri and Garret Graves of Louisiana also were considered to lead the department, the sources said.

The transition team did not respond to requests for comment.

Musk announced plans in October to produce large numbers of driverless Tesla robo-taxis without driver control starting in 2026. Current U.S. regulations pose significant obstacles to Musk’s plans for the so-called Cybercab, notably a ceiling limiting their deployment.

He supported federal autonomy rules during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, saying he would use any government role to push for a process to allow the use autonomous vehicles across the country. The statement prompted a sell-off in shares of Uber and rival Lyft Inc.

Trump has since named Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new Department of Government Effectiveness initiative aimed at “dismantling government bureaucracy” and cutting spending and regulations deemed too burdensome.

Previous efforts to develop federal legislation to regulate autonomous vehicles have failed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration currently allows manufacturers to deploy 2,500 autonomous vehicles per year under an granted exemption, but legislative efforts to increase that number to 100,000 have repeatedly failed.

A bill to do so passed the House several years ago during Trump’s first term, but the measure stalled in the Senate. An attempt during the first year of the Biden administration to merge the bill with other laws failed when some manufacturers tried to include language that would prevent consumers from suing or filing class-action lawsuits.

–With help from Keith Laing, Hadriana Lowenkron and Craig Trudell.

©2024 Bloomberg LP