TL;DR The DOT proposed removing brake pedal requirements for vehicles built exclusively for autonomous driving, a boost for Tesla’s Cybercab and Zoox. The proposed rule would remove FMVSS mandates for hand- or foot-operated brake controls in vehicles designed exclusively for automated driving systems, benefiting Tesla's Cybercab and Amazon's Zoox while preserving stopping distance standards The DOT proposed removing brake pedal requirements for vehicles built exclusively for autonomous driving, a boost for Tesla’s Cybercab and Zoox. The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation proposed on Wednesday removing the federal requirement for brake pedals in vehicles designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems. The rule change, if adopted, would eliminate one of the largest remaining regulatory barriers for companies building purpose-built autonomous vehicles without traditional human controls. The proposal updates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No 135, which governs brake systems, to drop the mandate for hand- or foot-operated brake controls in vehicles that will never have a human driver. Other braking performance requirements, including stopping distance standards, would remain in place. The public has 30 days to comment before the DOT decides whether to approve the changes. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison framed the move in sweeping terms. “We are at the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T,” Morrison said in a statement, adding that NHTSA is “tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter.” The biggest beneficiary is Tesla, which has spent years developing a two-seat vehicle called the Cybercab that is designed to operate without a steering wheel or pedals. The company began production at its Texas factory in early 2026 and has been running a small robotaxi service in Austin, though that fleet uses retrofitted Model Y vehicles with standard controls.