I hear yo, this is why I love reading the answers on here.
The arbitrary, future rules some parents have! I shake my head and think, honey you have no idea.
They have no idea what may come so when reality sets in and all of a sudden that cell phone, car, comes in handy, they have to back peddle!
Happens to all of us at some point, but we have to learn on our own.
I would approach this with some questions.
Is he mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving a car? Is he good at following rules? Does he do as he is instructed?
The sleep deprived portion of this. Has he seen a doctor? What has the doctor said?
Is it that he just does not need much sleep? Our daughter stayed up really late every night even school nights, but she could get up in the morning on time, get through a long day of school, after school Rowing team, get all of her homework completed and do it all over again. She is still a person that is ok with with 6 hours of sleep. Does not make her sleep deprived.
I got a learners permit and then a hardship license at 15, because my mother needed my help getting my sister to her school. There was no school bus at the time.
Once I was 16 she took me to find a job so I could start saving up for a car. IF she could have afforded to give me one, I am sure it would have come with a lot of rules and of course the responsibility for the transportation needs of my sister while our mom was at work.
I would have gladly done this to help her out. I would not have seen it as a chore, I would have been thrilled to be so trusted.
Why is your husband so opposed? Listen to his reasons. Is it because HE was not allowed to drive at that age?
Or because he feels your SON is not mature enough?
Is it the expenses he is concerned about? The MOMENT a teen is given a drivers license, your insurance will go up. A lot! So check into all of the costs to make sure this is how you want to handle this need.
IF you all decide to go this route. You will need to make a list of Expectations and be VERY clear that it is a privilege to drive. If the rules are not followed, you will revoke this privilege and the car can be taken away and sold because" the car is not your sons car, it is the family car!"
The options can be to give him a goal to reach to pay for the car. IF he reaches that goal, the car can be his (and as a bonus, you could even give him back the money as a reward!) when he graduates from High School.