The gap between Tesla’s deployment of Autopilot and meaningful federal oversight lays bare NHTSA’s limitations in policing emerging safety technology. U.S. officials are virtually powerless to stop auto makers from adopting such technologies unless they clearly run afoul of existing regulations that address car steering wheels, brakes and seat belts designed for human operators. Unlike the Federal Aviation Administration, which requires exhaustive certifications for most aircraft, auto regulators are often reactive.

Source: Scant Oversight of Self-Driving Technology – WSJ