Donald Trump's nominee for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he would allow a safety investigation into Tesla's advanced driving technology, potentially putting himself on a collision course with one of the president-elect's top backers.

Duffy, a former Republican congressman, lobbyist and Fox News personality, made the remarks Wednesday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., asked if he could maintain objectivity in the investigation of Tesla, a company led by Trump donor and supporter Elon Musk .

"Yes, I committed to this committee and to you, I will have NHTSA investigate," he said. "I think I also mentioned to you that I haven't met many players in these fields."

Duffy's comments follow months of reports that Musk has had an unprecedented impact on Trump's transition, with the Tesla CEO attending meetings with potential nominees to review new candidates. employees and volunteered to co-lead a committee to oversee massive spending cuts. Trump is also reportedly weighing policy decisions that would benefit Musk's business, such as eliminating crash reporting rules for partially and fully autonomous vehicles.

During the Biden administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched multiple investigations into the safety of Tesla's self-driving technology. One of the largest investigations resulted in a December 2023 recall of more than 2 million Tesla vehicles to install better protections for the company's Autopilot driver-assistance feature. NHTSA launched another investigation into the adequacy of the recall.

Duffy did not reveal any more information about taking on a role that might put him at odds with Musk. But he did comment on the need for national legislation to better regulate the safe rollout of autonomous vehicles. He said:

Not only is this a great technology with the potential to make our roads safer, it's a national security issue. We cannot lag behind China or other countries when it comes to autonomous driving technology. Currently, laws vary from state to state. I believe there has to be a federal law that all these innovators can abide by, whether they're in Texas, California, or elsewhere. Again, I will always make sure safety is key. But after safety, we want to create a wide runway for these companies and innovators to create products that bring us new technologies that again revolutionize the way we acquire things, the way we travel, whatever you Whether it’s taking an Uber or… it can be extraordinary and exciting.

As transportation secretary, Duffy has a pulpit to advocate for national laws on self-driving cars. It was reported that Trump was in favor of passing this bill after taking office.

But Congress has adopted multiple proposals over the past decade with little success. It's unclear whether the major differences will be resolved when the next opportunity arises.

The federal government has largely taken a backseat in regulating self-driving cars, leaving states to create their own rulebooks for safe deployment, which Duffy said is less than ideal. Legislation to significantly increase the number of self-driving cars on the road has been stalled in Congress for more than seven years, with lawmakers divided over a range of issues, including safety, liability and the appropriate number of exemptions from federal motor vehicle safety standards.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a new voluntary framework for autonomous vehicles aimed at streamlining the rollout of fully driverless vehicles.