Tesla Begins Testing Cybercab With No Steering Wheel or Pedals on Austin City Streets

Tesla has posted video on social media showing at least one autonomous Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals being tested in real-world traffic conditions on the streets of Austin, Texas — the city where its Robotaxi service first launched. While a human safety monitor is sitting in one of the car’s two seats, no human intervention is required in the 27-second span of footage shown.

The Cybercab is shown driving at normal city speed, sticking to a single lane on a relatively straight road, and passing through one intersection. The test was conducted during the daytime, with the car’s large central touchscreen showing the time as well as an estimated arrival time of three more minutes, based on the predetermined destination.

The screen also shows a representation of other cars on the road and the status of traffic lights in real-time. There’s a visualisation of the space in front of the Cybercab, the route it’s going to follow, and the distance it’s maintaining between itself and the vehicle in front of it, which could help passengers feel confident about Tesla’s ability to detect and track potential hazards.

While the video is extremely short and the road and traffic conditions shown in it are quite favourable, this is an important step for Tesla towards achieving its autonomous driving ambitions.

Tesla's Cybercab strategy

Being a two-seater vehicle, Tesla’s long-term plan is undoubtedly to dispense with the human safety monitor before the Cybercab can enter service as an autonomous taxi. The Robotaxi initiative currently operates with a small number of Model Y cars driving autonomously in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas, as well as a fleet in the San Francisco Bay Area with a human in the driver’s seat.

Cybercabs with steering wheels have been spotted around Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory manufacturing facility, though the company is clear that these are only engineering samples being used for testing and will not enter service.

The two-door, two-seater Cybercab was first unveiled in late 2024. Tesla pivoted to its autonomous taxi strategy after cancelling a previous plan to launch a purported “Model 2” which would have been its most affordable model. Production began earlier this year in anticipation of regulatory clearances for a wide rollout in 2026.