Trump administration wants to clear the way for self-driving cars

By choosing Donald Trump over Kamala Harris earlier this month, Americans may have accelerated the steering wheel’s disappearance. President-elect Trump’s team has reportedly said that clearing the road for self-driving cars to be legal is one of the Department of Transportation’s most important tasks.

BloombergTrump’s transition team told advisers that creating a federal framework for autonomous vehicles is a “top priority” for the Transportation Department, sources said. Current regulations make it difficult for companies to put large numbers of cars on U.S. roads without traditional controls (steering wheels and pedals), with licenses limited to 2,500 vehicles per year. Past attempts to increase the supply of licenses have failed, but alleged comments from the Trump team suggest those hurdles may soon be cleared.

RELATED: Tesla Cybercab is a $30,000 robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals

The news could be a big help to Tesla, which recently launched the long-awaited Cybercab, a sporty-looking two-seater self-driving taxi without a steering wheel. The automaker’s fully self-driving suite on cars like the Model 3 and Y could also benefit from the changes. Currently, it requires a human driver behind the wheel ready to take over.

Of course, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a big Trump supporter, was appointed co-leader of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and knew about the incoming administration early Position on autonomous driving.

But investors are very excited about it Bloomberg Tesla shares rose 7% today. The same news caused the share prices of ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to drop by almost the same amount, as Cybercab posed a huge threat to their businesses.

Not all lawmakers will welcome attempts to put more self-driving cars on U.S. roads. Cruise’s license in California was revoked after one of its cars was involved in a serious crash with a pedestrian, while Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD are currently under investigation by U.S. authorities.