Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) director Kimbal Musk praised the company’s Cybercab after riding the robotaxi in Austin, calling the autonomous vehicle "amazing to use" as Tesla expands its driverless service.
Cybercab Hits Tesla’s Promised 2026 Timeline
"Congratulations Team Tesla. The CyberCab is amazing to use. And on time," Musk wrote on X on Sunday, two years after Tesla unveiled the vehicle on Oct. 10, 2024.
At that event, CEO Elon Musk said Cybercab production would begin in 2026. Reuters reported the vehicle would have no steering wheel or pedals and would rely on Tesla’s camera-based autonomous-driving approach. Tesla began limited public Cybercab rides in Austin on Sept. 3, 2026.
Tesla Expands Vision-Based Robotaxi Fleet
Tesla AI chief Ashok Elluswamy also marked the milestone, writing that he "can’t believe the Cybercab is a real product." At the Austin launch, Elluswamy said Tesla had focused on solving autonomy through intelligence rather than adding sensors such as lidar. A recent look at his autonomy argument detailed why Tesla favors its vision-based approach.
Tesla said on Oct. 10 that more than 300 Cybercabs were serving Austin, representing an eightfold increase in 30 days. Its support page describes Cybercab as a fully autonomous, two-seat vehicle with butterfly doors, no steering wheel and no pedals. Riders hail it through the Robotaxi app.
Cybercab now joins Model Y vehicles in Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet. Tesla says Robotaxi service operates in limited areas of Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa. In its second-quarter filing, the company called Cybercab the intended "workhorse" of that fleet and said production had begun.
Regulators Scrutinize Tesla’s Driverless Expansion
Reuters reported 45 Cybercabs were registered in Texas around the launch, among 420 autonomous Tesla vehicles statewide. Federal regulators also opened an inquiry into how Tesla certified the steering-wheel-free vehicle under U.S. safety rules.
Kimbal Musk’s endorsement comes as Tesla tries to turn a small Austin deployment into a commercial network. Elon Musk has said Cybercab production should eventually move faster than conventional auto manufacturing. Tesla recently said the vehicle’s new production system runs more than five times faster.
Price Action: TSLA shares were down 0.13% to $382.19 during pre-market trading on Monday.
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