US to loosen rules on Tesla, other carmakers taking on China in race for self-driving cars

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press Business Writer NEW YORK AP The Trump administration is loosening rules to help U S automakers like Elon Musk s Tesla develop self-driving cars so they can take on Chinese rivals U S companies progressing self-driving cars will be allowed exemptions from certain federal safety rules for testing purposes the Transportation Department declared Thursday The department also announced it will streamline crash reporting requirements involving self-driving system that Musk has criticized as onerous and will move toward a single set of national rules for the system to replace a patchwork of state regulations Related Articles Immigration is Trump s strongest issue but multiple say he s gone too far a new AP-NORC poll finds Trump says Crimea will stay with Russia as he seeks end to war in Ukraine Canadians put off by Trump s bluster and confines arrests are booking far fewer US visits Boston s tax-exempt sector comes up M short of City Hall s requested PILOT bill information Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for her plastic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer We re in a race with China to out-innovate and the stakes couldn t be higher explained Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a declaration Our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard The new exemption procedures will allow U S automakers to apply to skip certain safety rules for self-driving vehicles if they are used only for research demonstrations and other non-commercial purposes The exemptions were in place previously for foreign imported vehicles whose home country rules may be different than those in the U S The decision comes a day after Musk certified on a conference call with Tesla investors that the electric car maker will begin a rollout of self-driving Tesla taxis in Austin Texas in June It s not clear how the exemptions from National Traffic Safety Administration rules will affect Tesla specifically The company has pinned its future on complete automation of its cars but it is facing stiff competition now from rivals especially China automaker BYD The crash reporting rule being changed has drawn criticism from Musk as too burdensome and unfair Tesla has stated numerous of the total crashes under the rule in part because it is the biggest seller of partial self-driving vehicles in the U S Traffic safety watchdogs had feared that the Trump administration would eliminate the reporting rule The transportation comment Thursday disclosed reporting will be loosened to remove unnecessary and duplicative requirements but that the obligation to assessment crashes will remain