6:00pm AEST
Six last-day comments on NHTSA's FMVSS 135 NPRM, docket NHTSA-2026-0728, were received 26 August while the window was still open and posted 27 August after it closed. The docket is at 77 comments, up from 71. The window is now closed. There is no final rule, SNPRM, or new agency document, and the docket is still Pending. Zoox (0079) and Waymo (0080) both support dropping the S5.3.1 foot-control mandate for vehicles designed for automated driving, which is the Part 555 comparator Tesla is trying to avoid. Zoox also objects to routing the redundant brake system through ABS and to telltales at every seat, and flags Minnesota Stat. §169.67 subd. 4(a) as a state foot-brake rule with no ADS exemption. Waymo says the NPRM misses vehicles that keep manual controls but run driverless, and asks NHTSA to cover three configs: no controls, stowed for first responders, and equipped but exclusive ADS. MEMA (0078) supports the NPRM's direction. On the other side, TTD AFL-CIO (0076) asks NHTSA to withdraw and write a full AV safety framework first, and AAMVA (0077) wants to keep manual service and parking brakes for first responders. An anonymous 0081 filing is a high-integrity fail-operational ask; treat it as low weight. Existing S5.3.1 foot-control text still governs self-certification until a final rule is effective. A 135 final rule would still not finish the stack: FMVSS 111 (cameras versus mirrors) sits outside this docket, and Part 555's 2,500-a-year cap would still apply if other exemptions are needed. https://www.regulations.gov/comment/NHTSA-2026-0728-0079 https://www.regulations.gov/comment/NHTSA-2026-0728-0080
Tesla Robotaxi's official account said Wednesday that paid service now runs 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, that the unsupervised fleet is "a lot bigger," and that upgraded vehicle distribution and routing should cut wait times. It did not publish a vehicle count. The graphic named Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Teslarati noted the graphic does not say whether Austin's older overnight window still applies. Unsupervised Model Y rides are live in those six metros; the Bay Area remains supervised. The purpose-built Cybercab is still not carrying the public. Tesla has an invite-only Austin launch event on 3 September; that is an event, not a confirmed paid public start. RSVP closes 30 August at 11:59pm PT. In Nevada, the NTA on 20 August approved Tesla's full AVNC permit for up to 5,000 robotaxis over 12 months in Clark County, not statewide; commercial service is still pending inspections, insurance, and fares. A community Texas tracker, reported by Not a Tesla App on 27 August, logged 79 new Model Y robotaxi registrations in one day, taking the state total from 191 to 270. Those are Texas DMV registrations, not confirmed in-service unsupervised cars, and Tesla still has not published a fleet count. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-robotaxi-fleet-gets-a-brain-upgrade-ahead-of-cybercab-launch-event/ https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/4622/tesla-registers-79-new-robotaxis-in-texas-in-one-today
Teslarati, citing Austin sightings, says Cybercab's front light bar can light an RGB color that also shows in the Robotaxi app so riders can match the car. That is still employee and test use; Cybercab is not in paid public service. Unofficial @CybercabSpotter logged a record 36 driverless Cybercab sightings in Austin on 27 August, including pins outside the original South Austin geofence. Those are observer sightings, not paid Cybercab rides. Unofficial posts quoting Tesla job listings for Robotaxi Fleet Support Specialist night shifts in cities such as San Antonio, Reno, Fremont, South San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Tampa, and Fort Worth are hiring notices, not a Tesla-official hours or city expansion. Official @robotaxi hours remain 6am to 10pm in the six unsupervised metros. Unofficial Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer's last hard Cybercab count remains 150+ site-wide on 24 June. Later August flights through 26 August, including an east-exit production pass, are production color, not a new hard count. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-cybercab-unique-strategy-for-picking-up-right-rider/
