GoKawiil
Tech News
Tesla has expanded its driverless robotaxi service beyond the Model Y to include the Cybercab, a two-seat vehicle featuring butterfly doors, touchscreens, and no steering wheel. A promotional video for the new vehicle went viral, but drew backlash from disability advocates who say its design overlooks accessibility needs.
Tesla opened its Cybercab robotaxi service to paying customers in Austin via its Robotaxi app, with 45 vehicles now running commercially. Shortly after, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the vehicle, which lacks a steering wheel, pedals and mirrors, since Tesla self-certified the design.
Tesla shares dropped 6% Friday after a subdued, invite-only Cybercab event in Austin left Wall Street unimpressed. The two-seat, driverless Cybercab began limited rides through Tesla's Robotaxi app within a geofenced Austin zone, but the company offered little new detail on pricing, production timelines or regulatory clearance, and Elon Musk did not attend.
After a low-key private event with no livestream and only a brief keynote, Tesla released fine print showing its Cybercab autonomous vehicle will not accept riders under 13 years old. The Cybercab also lacks standard LATCH anchors for child car seats, requiring seat belts instead, while Tesla's separate Model Y robotaxi service allows children as young as 8 with an adult present.
Tesla began operating its driverless, two-seat Cybercab for public rides in Austin, Texas, even as federal regulators launched a probe into whether the vehicle meets safety standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Audit Query will examine the data and reasoning Tesla used to conclude it doesn't need an exemption from rules requiring items like steering wheels and brake pedals—unlike competitor Zoox, which secured such an exemption for its similarly designed vehicles.
Tesla began limited commercial Cybercab service in Austin, Texas, using vehicles that lack a steering wheel, pedals or mirrors. Shortly after launch, the NHTSA opened an audit query covering roughly 1,000 vehicles to review how Tesla self-certified the Cybercab as compliant with federal safety standards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a formal investigation into Tesla just hours after the company began operating its steering-wheel-free, pedal-free Cybercab on Austin streets. Tesla had self-certified the vehicle as meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and regulators now want to examine the data and reasoning behind that certification, including which standards Tesla deemed inapplicable.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an audit query into Tesla's Cybercab, questioning how the company certified the vehicle without sideview mirrors, pedals, or a steering wheel—features normally mandated under federal safety standards. The probe covers roughly 1,000 Cybercabs, though only 45 are currently registered with Texas' DMV, and comes just as Tesla publicly unveiled the vehicle in Austin as part of its Robotaxi rollout.
Tesla has started deploying its Cybercab, a robotaxi built without a steering wheel or pedals, on public roads in Austin. The rollout marks an early real-world test of the company's fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicle design.
Tesla has started deploying its steering-wheel-free Cybercab for paid rides through its Robotaxi app, though so far only in Austin and only as one possible vehicle assigned by availability rather than by rider choice. The app also covers Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, but those cities currently get standard Model Y rides. Tesla holds permits for 314 driverless vehicles in Texas, with just 45 being Cybercabs, and it isn't clear how many are actually shuttling paying customers versus still being tested.
Tesla debuted its driverless Cybercab on public roads in Austin with an unusually low-key event—no livestream, no Elon Musk appearance, and influencers barred from posting until hours later. Roughly 45 of the pedal-less, wheel-less two-seaters are now registered to run on Tesla's robotaxi network in Texas.
Tesla launched an online interest form ahead of its Austin Cybercab event, inviting companies to explore buying fleets of its autonomous Cybercab vehicle or building supporting infrastructure such as mobility hubs. The move marks a shift from Tesla's earlier plan to run its robotaxi service entirely in-house.