Market AnalysisAug 19, 20262 Min
Tesla Cybercab May Hit Austin Roads By End-August: What To Know
Tesla is reportedly getting ready to launch its Cybercab robotaxi on public roads in Austin, Texas, as early as this month.
The first passengers will be Tesla employees. The company plans to give employees rides on public roads before adding Cybercabs to its robotaxi service in Austin a few days later, The Information reported.
The launch is expected by the end of August, although the timeline could still change.
Tesla has been testing Cybercab
Tesla has been preparing for the launch for several weeks. The company has been test-driving Cybercabs around its Austin campus and has also given employees rides on private roads.
Tesla has also recently trained local police, fire and rescue teams. The training was meant to help emergency workers understand how Cybercab works and what to do if something goes wrong. The company began testing the production version of the Cybercab on public roads in June.
Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals
The Cybercab is designed specifically as a self-driving vehicle. It does not have a steering wheel or pedals. Tesla plans to use the vehicle for its autonomous ride-hailing service. The company first unveiled the Cybercab in 2024.
Tesla has been building Cybercabs at its Texas factory since February. More than 100 vehicles had reportedly been spotted at the factory by July. Production is expected to increase later this year.
Tesla's Cybercab launch comes at a time when Alphabet's Waymo is already expanding its driverless taxi business. The company is expanding across the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles and is also entering Sacramento and San Diego.
Waymo says it now provides more than 500,000 fully driverless electric rides every week. The company has also completed more than 220 million miles with passengers travelling without a human driver.
https://thenextweb.com/news/tesla-cybercab-employee-rides-launch
Tesla says its robotaxis have covered around 380,000 driverless miles across its operating areas. The company's unsupervised robotaxi fleet in Austin has also reportedly fallen to about 17 vehicles from around 25 earlier this year.
Tesla, meanwhile, says its robotaxis have covered around 380,000 driverless miles across the areas where they operate. It currently operates only in limited areas of a few cities, including Austin and some markets in Florida. The company also plans to take the service to Dallas and Houston.
What does it mean for investors?
If Cybercab becomes a successful robotaxi, Tesla could earn money from every autonomous ride. But Tesla faces strong competition, as Waymo already has millions of driverless rides.
As Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, safety concerns around Tesla's earlier driver-assistance systems are also important.
Tesla's Autopilot and FSD systems have been linked to several crashes, including fatal ones, and have faced investigations by US regulators. In 2021, NHTSA opened a formal investigation after Tesla vehicles using Autopilot crashed into emergency vehicles.
