Editor’s Note: The story has been refreshed with the latest market price action and a revised headline.
Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is reportedly preparing to launch its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi in Austin, Texas, potentially as soon as this month.
Tesla Prepares Cybercab for Austin Rollout
Tesla has told employees that it could begin rolling out Cybercabs in Austin by first offering rides to its employees on public roads, Reuters reported on Monday (via The Information).
The company could then add the vehicles to its robotaxi service in Austin just days later, according to the report.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
The Cybercab is designed specifically for autonomous driving and does not have conventional driving controls such as a steering wheel or pedals.
However, last year, Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm said the automaker remains open to equipping the Cybercab with traditional vehicle controls.
Tesla Steps Up Driverless Vehicle Testing
Tesla has reportedly been preparing for the launch through several stages of testing. The company has conducted test drives, provided employees with rides on private roads and trained local first responders ahead of the potential deployment.
Tesla began testing the production version of the Cybercab on public roads in June, according to the report. Production is expected to increase later this year.
Cybercab Could Test Tesla’s Robotaxi Ambitions
A commercial Cybercab rollout would represent an important test of Tesla’s autonomous-driving ambitions. Musk has repeatedly promoted robotaxis as a potential major growth opportunity for the electric vehicle maker.
During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Tesla CFO Vaibhan Taneja said, "We’ve started doing Cybercab rides in our factory in Austin."
Waymo Expands Driverless Robotaxi Service
Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo last week said it has secured California approval to significantly expand its driverless ride-hailing operations.
This allows the company to scale across the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles while entering Sacramento and San Diego.
Waymo now provides more than 500,000 fully autonomous electric rides each week and has logged more than 220 million rider-only autonomous miles.
In June, JPMorgan noted that Waymo has 640 autonomous vehicles registered in Texas, compared with 84 for Tesla, despite Tesla expanding its robotaxi operations beyond Austin to Dallas and Houston this year.
However, the firm said the disparity may reflect Tesla’s deliberate focus on software development and readiness rather than rapid expansion of its autonomous fleet.
Price Action: Tesla closed at $339.30, down 0.87% on Monday. The shares were down 1.38% to $334.58 in premarket trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga Edge ranks Tesla stock in the 55th percentile for Quality, with its short-, medium- and long-term price trends all remaining negative.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Erman Gunes on Shutterstock.com
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