“That is a driverless car, ladies and gentlemen. There is nobody driving that thing,” Joe Rogan was heard saying in a new video he uploaded on Instagram. “Driverless robot car in Austin,” he captioned it. As of October 2023, there were 125 autonomous vehicles, or AVs operating in the city, but it seems the number could have increased this year as Austin has been an important testing ground for companies that are working on their driverless vehicle technology. So are Rogan’s previous fears about the same coming true?

Six years ago, Joe Rogan had some concerns about driverless cars. Joe Rogan said on JRE #1104, “I’m impressed, and I’m very hopeful. My only concern, as my friend Matt Farah mentioned when he was on last week—he’s a car expert—is that they’ve actually started an organization to save human driving. They’re literally going to be like lobbyists.”

He further added, “The concern is that one day they’re going to say you cannot drive your own car. They’re really worried… They’re very serious. He said it’s going to happen quicker than you think. It’s going to be very difficult to drive your own car, and then it’s going to be illegal.”

In fact, in September we got to know that Uber and self-driving car company Waymo were teaming up to offer self-driving ride-hailing service in a couple of months. It is called the Waymo One experience and that has been in use in three U.S. cities. However, Austin and Atlanta were their next targets. The feature will be available on the Uber app from early 2025.

Then let us not forget how Elon Musk broke the internet in October when he unveiled Tesla’s new vehicle: a self-driving car he calls the Cybercab. The tech mogul showed off the prototype of ‘robotaxi’ and it doesn’t have a steering wheel or pedals. Elon Musk himself traveled in this robotaxi during the unveiling event in LA.

With its launch, the internet soon went abuzz with talks about Donald Trump’s planning to loosen U.S. rules for autonomous vehicles. In fact, the creation of this new legislative framework will be a priority for the US Department of Transportation. However, Rogan seems to be on the fence when it comes to driverless cars. Previously, he had discussed how they could potentially eliminate DUIs (#1364) but in episode #1998, he also said, “Yeah, I don’t trust it. I have it, I don’t trust it,” in reference to his Tesla.

While it is a bit of a stretch to believe that the Trump administration would be making driving your car illegal with the new rumored changes, Rogan believes that the changes could be brought into power about 20-30 years ahead in the future. While we are yet to find out whether that prophecy turns out to be true or not, it is worth noting that Rogan predicted a change being brought along with the mainstream introduction of self-driving cars. But what changes can we expect right now?

Donald Trump’s rumored plans of relaxation in rules after Elon’s Tesla cab launch

Since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States again, it was speculated by many that Elon Musk could get some benefits, especially knowing the huge campaign with which the billionaire owner of Tesla promoted the Republican candidate. Now, the Trump administration’s first step in automotive has been predicted by many. As per several reports, the administration intends to relax US regulations on self-driving cars. In fact, the US Department of Transportation might prioritize the development of this new legislative framework.

This news caused Tesla shares to rise by 8% earlier this month. As Bloomberg reported on Nov. 18, current federal rules pose significant obstacles for companies that want to launch vehicles without a steering wheel or pedals, as Tesla intends to do. Trump’s team is looking for political leaders to have the department develop a framework for regulating self-driving vehicles.

While the Department of Transportation, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), can set guidelines to make autonomous vehicles more accessible, a congressional act would clear the door for the widespread use of self-driving cars.

This goes hand-in-hand with Musk’s vision to integrate self-driving cars into our day-to-day lives. In addition, he foresees that by 2030, these types of vehicles will begin to be available in bulk on the market, and by 2050 they might replace current cars. This can cause traffic rules to change, and perhaps also affect jobs, such as taxi drivers.

What do you think? Will this actually happen? Let us know in the comments.