NHTSA issued the order a week after Tesla began charging for Cybercab rides in Austin on September 3. It posed 21 questions, with civil penalties of up to $139 million for an incomplete answer and criminal exposure for a false one. Tesla asked for eight more weeks and got 30 days.
The docket holds three Tesla documents: a one-page letter saying only that "the entirety of this file is confidential business information," a placeholder for its answer on how the vehicle, with no steering wheel, pedals or mirrors, complies with each standard, and its first responder interaction plan, which has been on Tesla's website since July. The questions also asked how the vehicle is legal without an exemption, the route Amazon's Zoox took in July, with a cap of 2,500 vehicles a year.
According to Electrek, the first responder plan describes an operational domain of all public roads, at all hours and in light to moderate rain, fog and snow, far wider than the Austin geofence. NHTSA's Chief Counsel will decide whether the confidentiality claim holds and can order a public version released. NHTSA has not found the Cybercab noncompliant with any standard.