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Elon Musk’s cost-cutting measures at Twitter are now impacting the very agency responsible for overseeing the safety of his Tesla vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has launched investigations into fatal crashes involving Tesla cars, has confirmed job cuts.
While the NHTSA describes the number of positions eliminated as “modest,” the move comes amid Musk’s vocal criticism of the agency. He has previously accused the NHTSA of hindering advancements in self-driving technology through its investigations and recalls. This development raises questions about the potential impact on the agency’s ability to effectively regulate and investigate safety concerns related to Tesla’s autonomous driving systems.
Asked about whether the cuts would impact any probes into Tesla, the agency referred to its statement that says it will “enforce the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment.”
The job cuts at NHTSA enacted by Musk’s advisory group on shrinking the federal government, the Department of Government Efficiency, was earlier reported by The Washington Post.
In addition to investigations into Tesla’s partially automated vehicles, NHTSA has mandated that Tesla and other automakers using self-driving technology report crash data on vehicles, a requirement that Tesla has criticized and that watchdogs fear could be eliminated.
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The staff reductions have come through a combination of firings, buyouts and layoffs. The agency noted in its statement that the Biden administration had expanded its payroll, suggesting the smaller staff was sufficient to carry out its mission.
“Even with these modest efficiencies, NHTSA is still considerably larger today than it was four years ago,” the statement said. “We have retained positions critical to the mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic costs due to road traffic crashes.”
Musk is leading sweeping cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump that have targeted bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists and tens of thousands of other government employees.
A total of 6,000 employees at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service were told they would be fired, a person familiar with the matter said.
On Thursday he took to the stage at a conservative conference outside Washington with a gift from Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei: a chainsaw.
“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” said Musk, holding the gleaming power tool aloft at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
The red metallic chainsaw, given to Musk by Milei earlier in the day, was engraved on its side with the Argentine leader’s coarse Spanish slogan: “Viva la libertad, carajo,” which loosely translates to “Long live freedom, damn it!”
