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Depending on which corner of social media you frequent, the Tesla Cybercab event was either proof that the company is a robotaxi leader delivering the future or an overhyped affair with little substance. Whatever your view, Wall Street wasn’t impressed by the Cybercab event in Austin, which was unusually quiet and lacked the festival-like atmosphere of past Tesla events. CEO Elon Musk didn’t even attend — a notable and puzzling absence, especially considering he has spent years arguing that Tesla’s future — and its value — hinges on robotics and AI.
As senior reporter Sean O’Kane wrote before the event, “The Cybercab is Tesla’s fork in the road. This is either the moment the company begins to transform urban transportation as we know it, or the moment that reveals that, despite its many efforts, Tesla really is just an automaker after all.”
The event did little to boost confidence, but I don’t put much stock in events or demos. The real test is whether Tesla can launch a robotaxi service safely and at scale. For now, there is no scale, at least compared with Waymo. (As of today, Tesla has registered 45 Cybercabs in Texas, according to the state’s automated vehicle tracker.)
Another wrinkle emerged early Friday morning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Tesla just hours after the company put its first Cybercabs, which lack a steering wheel and pedals, on Austin streets. Federal vehicle safety regulations require manual controls like brake pedals, though the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing those requirements for vehicles that are designed to drive themselves.
Tesla chose to self-certify, the standard route taken by automakers for traditional human-driven vehicles. The NHTSA responded by tapping the brakes, although Tesla may choose to operate even as the investigation plays out. To be clear, there is precedent for the NHTSA’s action, and you can read all about it here.
Curious about the Cybercab? Tesla published several guides that reveal a few important details, including that this gilded robotaxi is not for kids. Here is a complete roundup of the Tesla Cybercab, as well as the company’s interest in selling the autonomous vehicles to fleet operators.
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Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
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