Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Visits Elon Musk's Tesla Gigafactory In Austin, Hints At Possible Federal Autonomous Driving Regulations

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Tesla Inc.'s TSLA Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, where he was joined by CEO Elon Musk.

What Happened: "We're thrilled about the future of autonomous vehicles and Tesla, one of the great companies that are evolving this technology," Duffy said in a video on social media platform X, which showcased highlights from his visit to the factory on Tuesday.

"America is at the forefront of innovation. @Tesla is one of the many companies helping our country reach new heights. @USDOT will be right there all the way to make sure Americans stay safe." Duffy said in the post. The video also highlighted how autonomous driving could help reduce traffic accidents and fatalities.

In a separate video, the Secretary shared a conversation with Musk where they talked about the Department of Transportation's role in innovation in the American auto industry.

Musk touched upon federal regulation for autonomous vehicles in the U.S. "It'd be wonderful for the United States to have a national set of rules for autonomous driving as opposed to 50 independent sets of rules on a state-by-state rules basis," Musk said.

Duffy echoed Musk's comments in the video. "You can't have 50 different rules for 50 different states. You need one standard," he said before sharing that the agency has asked AV companies to send in data so that the DOT can develop a single standard.

Why It Matters: Duffy's comments come in as the agency eased some of the regulations required for Domestic Autonomous Driving companies and provided them with some U.S. Safety Standards exemptions, previously reserved for imports.

House GOP Representatives also proposed axing the Federal EV credit currently offered on all EV purchases, which has been opposed by automakers who are in favor of gradually phasing out the credits instead of a blanket halt.

Elsewhere, Duffy also recently shared that the previous Biden administration had reportedly exceeded its legal capacity by illegally using CAFE standards as a "backdoor EV mandate."

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