Elon Musk said he'd push to regulate autonomous driving on the federal level 'if there's a department of government efficiency'

• Elon Musk pushed for federal regulation of autonomous vehicles during Tesla's earnings call.
• The Tesla CEO has previously said he'd be interested in a cabinet role under a second Trump admin.
• Musk said he's interested in leading a potential government efficiency commission.

Elon Musk said Wednesday that he thinks autonomous vehicles should be approved at the federal level, rather than state by state, and that if he ends up with a role in the White House, he'd make it happen.

The Tesla CEO made the comment on the company's earnings call Wednesday. Tesla's third-quarter earnings beat expectations, and its stock was up 12% in after-hours trading following the earnings release.

Musk said during the call that he expects Tesla to have unsupervised fully autonomous vehicles on the road in Texas and California next year, pending state approval. He said he would be "shocked" if the company did not get approval, but that he thinks in general it would be better if autonomous vehicles were approved on the federal level.

"There should be a federal approval process for autonomous vehicles," Musk said on the call, adding, "If there's a department of government efficiency, I'll try to help make that happen. For everyone, not just Tesla."

Musk did not mention Trump by name, but he previously said he would be enthusiastic to take on a White House role centered on enforcing government efficiency should Donald Trump take office.

"I can't wait," Musk said on X, in response to a Washington Post report about Trump floating the idea of a cabinet role for the billionaire. "There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go."

The US regulates autonomous vehicles on a state and federal level, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least 29 states have enacted laws related to autonomous vehicles, the association said.

Since his endorsement of Trump in July, Musk has been aiding the Trump campaign's ground game, flying to swing states, hosting town halls, and setting up sweepstakes that encourages people to vote, which some legal experts say could breach election law.

At a Pennsylvania town hall on October 18, Musk proposed firing an unspecified number of federal workers while providing them a two-year severance.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.