A new advocacy group is pushing for stricter self-driving car regulations with Tesla squarely in its crosshairs. Safe Autonomous Vehicles Everywhere in the United States (SAVE-US) launched Wednesday, demanding clearer tech limits disclosures and multi-sensor requirements as federal investigators probe Tesla's Full Self-Driving software for running red lights and wrong-way driving incidents.
The gloves are off in the autonomous vehicle regulation fight. Tesla just became the primary target of a new advocacy campaign that's pushing state lawmakers to crack down on self-driving car safety standards.
Safe Autonomous Vehicles Everywhere in the United States (SAVE-US) launched Wednesday with a clear mission: force tech companies to be upfront about their driving technology's limits, report detailed crash data to states, and use multiple sensors on their vehicles. The timing isn't coincidental - it comes as the federal government opened an investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving software last week following reports of the system running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the street.
"It's fair to say that Tesla is the worst actor in this space, but that definitely doesn't mean every other company is a perfect actor either," Shua Sanchez, the group's national campaign director, told WIRED. "If we don't have good regulations in place, we leave the door open for any company to pursue an unsafe path."
The campaign represents a significant escalation in the regulatory pressure facing autonomous vehicle developers. While companies like Waymo and Zoox rely on expensive radar and lidar sensors alongside cameras, Tesla has doubled down on its controversial vision-only approach, betting that cameras and AI software alone can safely pilot vehicles. This strategy underpins CEO Elon Musk's promise that existing Tesla cars will eventually drive themselves through software updates.
Sanchez brings serious credentials to this fight. The physicist previously led the Tesla Takedown movement, organizing protests outside Boston showrooms to challenge Musk's involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency. His co-founder, Bob Somers, spent five years as an engineer at self-driving developer Zoox before leaving the industry entirely.
The two met this summer outside an Oakland administrative hearing where California's Department of Motor Vehicles argued that Tesla should lose its manufacturing license for allegedly false advertising of its Full Self-Driving and Autopilot features. An administrative judge is expected to rule on that case later this year.
