Fred Vestal
354 posts

Fred Vestal
@frediev17
retired in Florida. Tesla Bull





The war in Iran has already cost $22.8 billion. For $22.8 billion, we could: • Provide Medicaid to 6.8 million kids • Build 2.6 million public housing units • Fund Head Start for 1.3 million • Hire 240,000 teachers • Cancel $20,000 in student debt for 1 million borrowers









Can Tesla scale the Cybercab beyond the 2,500 annual limit now? It appears that Tesla could produce and deploy Cybercabs above the 2,500-vehicle cap only if the vehicle fully complies with all applicable FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards). If Tesla certifies compliance, the exemption system - and its 2,500-vehicle annual limit - is irrelevant. Tesla can scale far beyond 2,500 per year if Cybercab: 1) Meets all crashworthiness standards. 2) Meets all remaining FMVSS (lighting, glazing, braking, occupant protection, etc.). 3) Self-certifies like any normal vehicle. This rule (see linked post below) helps because it removes barriers tied to having no steering wheel. If Cybercab is engineered for compliance from day one, the 2,500 limit never matters. The rule explicitly acknowledges vehicles designed to operate solely by ADS may have no manually operated driving controls (including steering). Standards written around steering controls simply don’t apply and manufacturers do not need to add redundant manual controls just to comply (sorry @farzyness). If a vehicle has no steering control system, these standards effectively drop out: FMVSS 203 – impact protection from the steering control system FMVSS 204 – steering control rearward displacement Because there is no component to regulate. Removing the wheel does NOT relax safety standards. Vehicles without steering wheels must still meet: - FMVSS 208 (airbags, restraints) - FMVSS 214 (side impact) - FMVSS 226 (ejection mitigation) - Other crashworthiness rules Dual-Mode Vehicles Follow Different Rules If a vehicle has manual controls (even stowable), then the seat with access to them is still regulated as a driver position. So, removing the wheel entirely results in a simpler compliance path. Whereas stowable controls results in more regulatory complexity. There is no “steering wheel rule.” There is only a compliance rule - and post-2022, a driverless vehicle with no steering wheel is fully permissible under FMVSS if it meets all other safety standards.























