U.S. regulators probe Tesla's steering-wheel-free Cybercabs

U.S. federal regulators have opened an investigation into whether Tesla's new steering-wheel-free Cybercabs comply with safety rules, one day after the company began offering rides in the vehicles in Austin, Texas.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is examining whether Tesla fully complied with federal requirements in deploying the two-seat vehicles, which have no steering wheels, mirrors or brake pedals. Tesla had said before the launch that it relied on self-certification to establish compliance. The agency said it would audit the certification process and technical data used by the company.

Elon Musk launched the Cybercab service Thursday, sending dozens of the vehicles onto Austin streets and holding an event for invited guests. Tesla shares fell more than five per cent to US$357.38 in early Friday trading following news of the probe, reversing much of the previous day's gains. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk has described the Austin launch as the start of a national rollout of low-cost driverless taxis. He plans to integrate Cybercabs, which have no manual controls for passengers to take over in an emergency, into Tesla's existing robotaxi network. That network has operated in Austin for more than a year and has begun offering rides in five other Texas and Florida cities.

Tesla also faces several federal investigations concerning self-driving software safety. They include probes into crashes in fog, sun glare and other low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian; incidents involving vehicles using partial self-driving software that ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road; and the company's apparent failure to promptly report crashes.