Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team is eliminating jobs at the vehicle safety agency that oversees Tesla and has launched investigations into deadly crashes involving his company’s cars.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is firing nearly half of a small government team that regulates autonomous vehicles. The firings are part of a broader 10% reduction at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) due to probationary worker firings and buyout offers.

Cuts to the new autonomous vehicle team will also reduce oversight on the industry as a whole, comprised of massive tech companies and their self-driving subsidiaries like Alphabet-owned Waymo , and Amazon's Zoox autonomous taxis. Both have also faced regulatory oversight from the NHTSA in recent years ranging from crash investigations to recalls.

Elon Musk's chainsaw has been swinging through the federal government over the last few weeks, with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chopping down budgets and excising staff at a number of agencies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles.