As the tension between US President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to escalate, Trump has nominated a well-known critic of Tesla to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
According to Electrek on Thursday, the person nominated by Trump for the position of NHTSA director, Jonathan Morrison, has been critical of the electric vehicle giant during his tenure at the regulatory agency.
The report stated that Morrison served as the chief legal counsel for the NHTSA during Trump's first term and had several disputes with Tesla.
In September 2018, the NHTSA released crash test results for the Tesla Model 3, which received a five-star safety rating in all testing categories. Subsequently, Tesla claimed that the Model 3 "had the lowest probability of injury among all vehicles tested by the NHTSA."
In response, Morrison, then the NHTSA's chief legal counsel, sent a legal warning letter to Tesla, accusing it of misleading statements. The NHTSA's lawyers also subpoenaed Tesla to provide data related to a specific traffic accident in 2019.
Morrison is expected to appear before the US Senate for confirmation hearings in the coming weeks and may take up the position of NHTSA director after being confirmed by the Senate.
This move comes amid rising tensions between Trump and Musk over the issue of "big and beautiful," as Musk announced his decision to form a new political party, while Trump said this "would not work."
Tesla has also been under review by the NHTSA, and the company's FSD technology was recently assessed by the agency before the launch of Robotaxi to evaluate its efficiency under different weather conditions.
The NHTSA stated that the agency is also reviewing potential traffic violations associated with the launch of Tesla's Robotaxi in Austin.
This article is sourced from Financial Times
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