🚕 Tesla's taxi without a steering wheel or pedals is now running in Austin

🚕 Tesla's taxi without a steering wheel or pedals is now running in Austin

Unlike competitors Waymo and Zoox, which combine cameras with radar and lidar, Tesla builds the entire system on cameras. The company has 45 Cybercabs registered with the Texas motor vehicle authority and a total of 256 robotaxis operating without safety drivers across six cities.

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  • Tesla has begun operating its purpose-built robotaxi, the Cybercab, on the streets of Austin, Texas. The vehicle has no steering wheel, no pedals and no mirrors.
  • Unlike competitors Waymo and Zoox, which combine cameras with radar and lidar, Tesla builds the entire system on cameras.
  • The company has 45 Cybercabs registered with the Texas motor vehicle authority and a total of 256 robotaxis operating without safety drivers across six cities.

A car built without a driver's seat

On September 3, Tesla's new robotaxi rolled out in Austin. The Cybercab is a two-seat vehicle with gullwing-style doors and a gold-colored body. It has no traditional controls. There is no steering wheel, no pedals and no mirrors, and it uses eight cameras to find its way through traffic. Unlike competitors Waymo and Zoox, which combine cameras with radar and lidar, Tesla builds the entire system on cameras.

The vehicle was first shown in 2024. Tesla tested it in several cities for months before the launch.

Lighter than any other Tesla

According to documents filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Cybercab runs on a single front-mounted permanent magnet motor with 219 horsepower and front-wheel drive. The battery pack is 48 kilowatt-hours and operates at 326 volts. The curb weight is roughly 3,113 pounds, about 700 pounds lighter than the lightest Model 3 on sale today. That is roughly the same as a gasoline-powered compact car, even though the Cybercab carries a lithium-ion battery.

From modified Model Ys to a purpose-built taxi

Tesla has been running robotaxis in Texas and Florida for a year. The service started in Austin in June last year with modified Model Ys. In the beginning, safety drivers sat in the vehicles to take over if needed. The service has since expanded to five other cities in Texas and Florida, and the company now has more than 200 vehicles operating entirely without safety drivers.

New website and new rules

Alongside the launch, Tesla opened a new website for the robotaxi service. It sets out the rules for riding. Children under the age of 13 are currently not allowed to ride in a Cybercab. The company also published several videos showing the interior, crash test results and how the vehicle works for people with disabilities.

Tesla has also put up a form for anyone interested in future robotaxi opportunities, such as purchasing a fleet of Cybercabs or building mobility hubs and infrastructure for the service. Musk has previously said the two-seater should be available for as little as $30,000.

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