In the long arc of humanity's relationship with machines that move us, a new threshold has been crossed: a vehicle with no steering wheel now carries passengers on public roads, and the question of who vouches for its safety has drawn the attention of federal regulators. Tesla's Cybercab, a purpose-built robotaxi, entered limited commercial service in West Seattle through a self-certification process that the U.S. safety watchdog now finds worthy of formal investigation. At stake is not merely one company's timeline, but the deeper question of whether the institutions built to protect the publ