NCD letter to Elon Musk regarding barriers for people with disabilities

Mr. Elon Musk c/o

Tesla, Inc.
1 Tesla Road
Austin, TX 78725

SpaceX
1 Rocket Road
Brownsville, TX 78521

June 3, 2026

Dear Mr. Musk:

I write on behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency that advises the President, Congress, and other federal agencies on disability policy and recommends actions to advance the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act, to request a meeting to discuss the issues described below and how your expertise with advanced technologies could resolve them.

NCD continuously evaluates emerging policy issues affecting people with disabilities across all levels of government and the private sector to identify barriers to equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. During the forty years I have worked in disability policy, ten of those as both a council member and Chaiman of NCD, I have witnessed the persistent barriers faced by people with disabilities that prevent them from accessing fundamental needs that are necessary for independent and safe living and the slow or lack of progress in resolving many of them. To break down these barriers, we need a visionary thinker with the resources and expertise to design and implement technological advances. You are uniquely positioned to achieve changes that would profoundly improve the independence, safety, and quality of life of millions of people with disabilities in the U.S. and beyond.

Two solvable issues I bring to your attention here are (1) the lack of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in ride-hailing services and in emerging autonomous vehicle fleets, and (2) the shortage of direct support workers who assist people with disabilities with activities of daily living in their own homes.

Ride-Hailing and Autonomous Vehicles

In July 2025, NCD submitted a report to the President and Congress titled Ground Transportation for People with Mobility Disabilities 2025: Challenges and Progress. ¹ The report examined the impacts of a lack of accessible transportation, particularly for wheelchair users. This population relies on public transportation because adapting personal vehicles is prohibitively expensive and because they do not wish to or cannot drive. The ongoing lack of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) contributes to unemployment, poverty, inability to access health care, social isolation, and more.

Our report found that wheelchair users have not benefited from advances in ground transportation that have benefitted other populations. A prime example is ride-hailing. Despite the exponential growth of ride-hailing apps, this population continues to be left behind, even as technology advances and the need for accessible vehicles is increasing as the nation grows increasingly older. Companies such as Uber and Lyft now control 80 percent or more of the ground transportation market, but people who need WAVs have starkly unequal access to these popular and convenient services which provide WAVs in only about ten U.S. cities. This leaves millions of wheelchair users in communities across the nation without access while these services become larger and more available to the general public. As a result, wheelchair users remain largely relegated to options like outdated paratransit models, where 24-hour advance reservations are required and a trip can take hours to complete, or to fixed-route buses which make even a short trip hours long and do not reach all needed destinations. These options are no options for many wheelchair users who, like anyone else, want access to transportation when they need it, from door to door, to suit their personal schedules and unexpected needs.

Our report also examined the emerging autonomous vehicle (AV) industry, highlighting that that AV technology has long been viewed as a solution to the transportation challenges faced by many people with disabilities. To be that solution, however, AVs must include accessibility features, including wheelchair access. A recent study, noted in our report, found that accessible AVs could generate $416 billion in additional income, increase U.S. gross domestic product by $867 billion, boost economic output by $1.6 trillion, and yield $92 billion in additional federal tax revenue. Unfortunately, the needs of wheelchair users are not being addressed as AVs are advancing: the businesses that currently provide rides in fully autonomous robotaxis use small vehicles and offer no autonomous wheelchair-accessible options, and none of the AV businesses we interviewed for the report had plans to design or manufacture an autonomous WAV. We are concerned that the imminent rise in autonomous taxis without models physically accessible to wheelchair users will result in the same lack of access as the largely inaccessible ride-hail model.

NCD encourages you and your companies to apply your considerable engineering expertise to develop fully accessible, autonomous WAVs. Our report highlights that such vehicles will require a universal securement device to autonomously secure different sizes and models of wheelchairs. Given the wide range of wheelchair sizes and shapes, developing such a securement device has been a significant design challenge that the Secure Ride Coalition has been working to resolve. ²: This necessity is a challenge that you are also well positioned to address.

Direct Support Workers

Your expertise in robotics could also help address the ongoing shortage of direct support workers (DSWs) across the nation. People with disabilities and older adults rely on DSWs to assist with activities of daily living, such as moving from a bed to a wheelchair, getting dressed, preparing meals, taking medications, bathing, and shopping. Assistance from DSWs is crucial to helping millions of people with disabilities and older adults remain in their homes and live there safely—which is the desire of most people. Yet turnover and vacancy rates among DSWs are high, making it difficult for people to receive the services they need. This puts people at risk of institutionalization, which has been shown to be more expensive than home and community-based care. It has also proven to be dangerous, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, when scores of elderly and disabled people who were locked down in nursing homes died from the rapid spread of the virus in these congregate settings.

Your companies could play a transformative role in using robotics to help people safely remain in their homes and assist in resolving the direct support worker shortage. Your ability to bring brilliant engineers together to find innovative ways to address challenging problems can be applied to help individuals with disabilities achieve greater independence and autonomy. Already, Neuralink’s work with brain-computer interfaces is showing promise for individuals with disabilities that affect their ability to speak and move. We are greatly encouraged and excited by the potential of your efforts in this area.

As you well know, solving problems for the most difficult-to-serve customers always has a positive impact on everyone. If the space program has taught us anything, it is that much of what we learn from working to conquer space can help lift society as a whole.

As a resident of Orlando, Florida, I can’t tell you how many times my wife and I have watched SpaceX rockets carve paths into the future, and we cheered not only your successes but also your audacity to attempt the impossible, despite those who would detract from your efforts. Americans and all people with disabilities worldwide need you and your audacious, artistic mind to see things differently on their behalf, and create solutions that will improve their lives.

I would welcome a meeting with you to discuss this letter and am willing to meet you anywhere in the United States. I look forward to discussing how advanced technologies can reduce the barriers people with disabilities face.

Your staff can reach NCD’s General Counsel & Director of Policy, Joan Durocher, at jdurocher@ncd.gov to arrange a convenient time and location.

Respectfully,

Neil Romano
Acting Chairman