Updated Feb. 4, 2026 — Washington
Senior executives from Tesla and Waymo faced the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to defend the safety of their autonomous driving systems, arguing those systems reduce crash risk compared with human drivers even as recent incidents draw scrutiny.
Lawmakers are weighing how to establish a consistent federal safety framework for self-driving vehicles as deployments increase in U.S. cities. About half the states have differing or no rules for autonomous vehicles, creating a fragmented regulatory landscape that senators said should be addressed.
Committee members said they want autonomous technology to help cut preventable crashes caused by distracted or impaired drivers, but they raised concerns about several high-profile events. The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into instances in Austin, Texas, where Waymo robotaxis reportedly failed to yield and, in some cases, passed stopped school buses. Regulators have also cited Waymo after a vehicle struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school; the company said the child ran out from behind another car and sustained minor injuries. Waymo has said it discovered a software issue and issued an update in November.
Tesla recently began rolling out robotaxi service in Austin. One analysis of NHTSA data indicated Tesla vehicles may have had higher crash rates than human drivers in the previous year. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
During questioning, Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña described fixes already implemented and said the company continuously evaluates incidents, deploys software updates and is working with the Austin Independent School District to collect lighting and other operational data to improve performance. Peña said Waymo encounters thousands of school buses each week and that its learning from real-world operations has reduced risk. He pointed to Waymo’s safety metrics, reporting that over more than 100 million miles driven the company’s data show substantially lower rates of serious injury and pedestrian injury collisions compared with human drivers in cities where it operates.
Senators pressed for accountability and stronger oversight. Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell warned against allowing companies to ‘‘beta test’’ on public roads without sufficient guardrails. Witnesses including Bryant Walker Smith, an associate law professor, urged regulators to treat the companies developing and deploying AVs as the effective drivers and to proactively assess corporate trustworthiness.
Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy emphasized the role of federal safety regulators and pointed to the potential of autonomous driving to reduce the roughly 40,000 annual U.S. traffic deaths. He argued that computerized drivers do not suffer fatigue and that autonomy is the next major opportunity to lower crash fatalities. When senators asked who would accept liability for collisions caused by software or hardware failures, Moravy said Tesla would assume responsibility under existing law; Peña gave a similar assurance for Waymo.
The hearing highlighted bipartisan interest in a national approach to AV safety, though lawmakers differ on how prescriptive rules should be. Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz urged a data-driven federal framework focused on uniform safety standards, clear liability rules and consumer confidence, while cautioning against costly mandates he views as ineffective.
Democratic Sen. Ed Markey has pressed companies about their use of remote assistance operations — the remote staff who intervene when a vehicle encounters difficulties — asking whether remote operators ever take full control of vehicles and how frequently interventions occur. Markey said reliance on remote assistance raises safety, national security and privacy concerns.
Markey is sponsoring the AV Safety Data Act, which would require NHTSA to mandate disclosure of AV operational data such as miles traveled, injuries involving drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists, and unplanned stoppages. He and Sen. Richard Blumenthal also introduced the Stay in Your Lane Act, which would force manufacturers to define the specific roads and conditions for which their systems are certified and prohibit operation outside those defined limits — an approach Blumenthal compared to how aircraft are certified to FAA standards.
The hearing underscored growing pressure on regulators and Congress to create clearer, nationwide rules governing autonomous vehicles so deployment can expand while protecting public safety.