Trump Nominates Apple Employee To Oversee Safety Probes Multiple Automakers, Including Elon Musk's Tesla

President Donald Trump has nominated Jonathan Morrison to be administrator of the U.S. auto safety regulator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) responsible for overseeing safety probes into multiple automakers including Tesla Inc TSLA.

What Happened: The nomination was referred to Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the record show, following which it would be sent for a full Senate vote.

According to Morrison’s LinkedIn profile, he is currently an Apple employee who previously served as chief counsel of NHTSA during Trump’s previous term. He was also formerly the Director of Legal & Regulatory Affairs of the California New Car Dealers Association.

If sworn in, Morrison will oversee the agency that probes automakers, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, over safety concerns.

Last month the Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy committed to allowing the NHTSA to proceed with its investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.

"I commit to this committee and to you that I will let NHTSA do their investigation," Duffy said when asked if Musk’s proximity to President Trump will impact ongoing investigations. Musk is leading the department of government efficiency under the Trump administration.

Why It Matters: In January, NHTSA opened a probe into about 2.6 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the company's full self-driving driver assistance technology following a complaint alleging that the use of its "Actually Smart Summon" feature led to a crash.

Actually Smart Summon refers to a feature that allows a user to remotely move the vehicle towards themselves or to another nearby location such as a parking lot through the company's phone app.

In October, NHTSA opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles following reports of four crashes where FSD was engaged.

The regulator then said that it had identified four crash reports in which a Tesla experienced a crash after entering an area of “reduced roadway visibility” with FSD engaged. The reduced visibility, the regulator said, was caused by sun glare, fog, or airborne dust.

In one of the crashes, the vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian, the regulator added.

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