"Tesla's Cybercab isn't scheduled to go into production until 2026, but when it does, it may end up stuck with a vestige of the automotive past: a steering wheel. To be sure, we still use steering wheels. But the Tesla Cybercab was meant to be the first vehicle of the new future, and there's nothing futuristic about steering wheels. Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla's board of directors, let slip in an interview with Bloomberg that the autonomous vehicle may need to include"
"That's because steering wheels are kind of a big deal with regulators; they like cars to have them. If you want to sell a car without one, you need to apply for an exemption from current federal safety rules. And that comes with a lot of tradeoffs. "If we have to have a steering wheel, it can have a steering wheel and pedals," Denholm told Bloomberg."
"Tesla unveiled the Cybercab at a lavish event in Hollywood last year, with Elon Musk touting the sleek two-seater as the future of mobility. The lack of a steering wheel was intended to convey the seriousness with which Tesla was approaching autonomous technology. This would be a purpose-built autonomous vehicle, one built from the ground up to be autonomous, and only autonomous. No steering wheel meant to way to take manual control of the vehicle."
Tesla's Cybercab is scheduled for production in 2026 and may include a steering wheel due to regulatory expectations. Regulators generally require steering wheels, and selling a wheel-less car requires a formal exemption from federal safety rules. Seeking an exemption can add months or years to approval and force tradeoffs. Tesla initially designed the Cybercab as a purpose-built, steering-wheel-free autonomous two-seater to emphasize full autonomy. Regulatory risk and past experiences, such as GM's efforts with the Cruise Origin and subsequent setbacks, illustrate the practical obstacles to releasing vehicles without manual controls.
Read at The Verge
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