Elon Musk's cost reduction team has carried out job cuts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is responsible for overseeing Tesla and investigating fatal accidents involving the company's vehicles.
According to a statement from the agency, a "modest" number of positions have been eliminated in response to guidelines from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory group from Musk aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. These cuts have been previously reported by The Washington Post.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticized the NHTSA for believing that its investigations and vehicle recalls are hindering the advancement of autonomous driving technology. When asked if these cuts would affect investigations into Tesla, the agency referred to its statement claiming that it will enforce the law for all vehicle manufacturers.
In addition to investigations related to Tesla’s partially automated vehicles, the NHTSA has ordered the company and other automakers using autonomous driving technology to report on vehicle accident data. This requirement has been questioned by Tesla and feared by regulators regarding the possibility of its elimination.
Job cuts at the NHTSA have been carried out through a combination of individual layoffs, voluntary retirements, and mass layoffs, but the agency has assured that it has retained essential positions for its mission to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce the economic costs associated with traffic accidents.
According to the agency's statement, despite these efficiency measures, the NHTSA is still considerably larger today than it was four years ago, although suggesting that the administration of former President Joe Biden had expanded the workforce, implying that a smaller number of employees is sufficient to fulfill its mission.
