The Daily Hallucination

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal safety investigation opened days after Tesla began operating Cybercabs with no steering wheel, pedals or manual controls on public streets has entered what regulators call "an extended dialogue phase," after Tesla submitted a 40-page response arguing that most of its customers had not been touching the wheel for years.

"We reviewed telemetry from 1.2 million vehicles," the filing reads. "In a supermajority of trips, the steering wheel was used primarily as a surface for a phone. We have simply removed the surface. The phone can go in the cupholder."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had asked how a passenger in a Cybercab could take control if the vehicle behaved unexpectedly. Tesla's response noted that in the previous generation of vehicles, drivers who attempted to take control during unexpected behavior "tended to make it worse," and that the Cybercab "eliminates that source of error."

In a separate section titled "What Is an Emergency," Tesla observed that its vehicles do not experience emergencies but rather "edge cases," which are resolved by pulling over, activating hazard lights, and waiting for a remote operator, a software update, or "clarity."

Passengers in Austin have described the experience as smooth, quiet and occasionally philosophical. "It stopped at a green light for about a minute," said one rider. "The screen said it was 'confirming intent.' I don't know whose. Then it went. Honestly, I've had worse Ubers."

NHTSA said it would continue to review the matter and had requested additional information, specifically about a Cybercab that on Tuesday entered a four-way stop and did not exit it for six hours, causing a backup that stranded a truck carrying a data center.

Tesla said the vehicle was "yielding."