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Tech News
A Cybercab rider in Austin reported that a trip meant to take ten minutes stretched into a 70-minute ordeal, with the vehicle initially heading the wrong way before winding through east Austin. Electrek attributes the meandering routes to the fact that Tesla's robotaxis cannot yet use highways and operate only within a limited, pre-mapped geofenced zone, unlike Waymo which already drives on highways in some cities.
Tesla has begun distributing a 'Robotaxi interest form' encouraging entrepreneurs to buy fleets of its two-seat Cybercab and share ride revenue with the company as it expands robotaxi operations in Austin. The push follows Elon Musk's long-standing claims that self-driving Tesla vehicles could become passive income machines for owners.
A Tesla Model 3 ran a stop sign in Buena Vista Township, New Jersey on July 6, 2025, striking a Honda Civic and killing its 82-year-old driver, Stephen Field. Local police described it as an ordinary failure-to-stop crash, but Tesla's own federal safety filing shows its driver-assist system was 'Verified Engaged' at the time, a detail Tesla redacted key details about, including the crash narrative and software version.
Tesla is circulating an interest form asking businesses whether they want to purchase and operate their own Cybercab fleets on its robotaxi network, splitting revenue with the company. This mirrors a promise Elon Musk made back in 2019, when he claimed owners could earn up to $30,000 a year in gross profit by putting their cars on the 'Tesla Network,' a plan that never materialized for any owner.
A 2020 Tesla Model 3 came to a complete stop on Mesa, Arizona's Loop 202 highway around 3 AM on October 31, 2025, before being rear-ended by an F-350 pickup, killing the driver. Electrek matched the crash to a NHTSA filing showing Tesla's Autopilot or Full Self-Driving system was engaged at the time, a detail not disclosed in initial local reports.
Tesla has started offering public rides in its steering-wheel-free Cybercab as part of its Austin robotaxi service, nearly two years after the vehicle was first unveiled. The vehicle relies on a modified version of Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, monitored remotely, rather than the sensor suites—like lidar—used by competitors.
A dashcam video shared by auto journalist Lei Xing shows a Tesla running the latest Full Self-Driving software, version 14.3.7, stopping at a railroad crossing with flashing lights and then suddenly accelerating toward the tracks as a freight train approached. The driver had to manually brake to avoid a collision, even though warning lights were flashing and train horns were audible. This follows earlier Tesla updates that claimed to improve detection of objects extending into a vehicle's path.