Tesla
Electric vehicle and clean energy company. Developing Full Self-Driving (FSD) autonomous driving technology and the Optimus humanoid robot. Under CEO Elon Musk, Tesla has ramped up lobbying on autonomous driving regulation and AI-related vehicle safety standards.
Tesla spent $0.9M on federal AI lobbying in Q1 2026, with $3.0M in total tracked spending. The company is active in 3 states and focuses on autonomous driving and fsd regulation, ai vehicle safety standards, robotics and humanoid robot regulation (optimus).
Federal Lobbying by Quarter
Public Position
Advocates for accelerated autonomous vehicle deployment and opposes regulations that would slow FSD rollout. Supports federal preemption of state autonomous driving laws. Favors performance-based safety standards rather than prescriptive design mandates. Benefits from Elon Musk's political relationships for regulatory influence.
Policy Focus Areas
Key Lobbyists
Bills Lobbied On
- 📋SELF DRIVE Act (autonomous vehicle regulation)
- 📋AV START Act (autonomous vehicle deployment)
- 📋NHTSA autonomous vehicle safety standards
- 📋S. 2714 (SAFE Innovation Framework Act)
Notable Actions
- →Deployed Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to hundreds of thousands of vehicles, largest real-world AV test fleet
- →Lobbied NHTSA for performance-based rather than prescriptive autonomous vehicle safety standards
- →Announced Optimus humanoid robot program, opening new AI regulation fronts
- →Leveraged Elon Musk's political access through DOGE role for favorable regulatory treatment