Tesla’s Cybercab could start employee rides in Austin this month

Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi could start carrying Tesla employees on public roads in Austin as soon as this month, according to reports. If that happens, it would mark one of the first real-world outings for Tesla’s dedicated autonomous ride-hailing program.

The rollout appears to follow the same Austin pattern Tesla has used before, with limited access at the start. What makes this different is the vehicle itself. This would be Tesla’s first purpose-built robotaxi: the compact two-seater Cybercab, with no steering wheel and no pedals. That makes it a much bigger step than adapting a Tesla Model Y.

Tesla has already begun Cybercab production at Gigafactory Texas, although CEO Elon Musk has said output will be agonizingly slow at first.

Reports also suggest Tesla is making its usual case for the vehicle: low running costs, scale later on, a target price below $30,000, private-road testing in Texas, first-responder training in Austin, and some vehicles reportedly outfitted with Starlink antennas for connectivity.

If you’ve been following Tesla’s autonomy plans, this is the part to watch. Safety and regulation may matter more right now than production.

The Cybercab is expected to run on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, which is still under investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Tesla also remains behind Waymo, Zoox, and Apollo Go, with reported totals of about 380,000 driverless miles, versus Waymo’s more than 220 million rider-only driverless miles.

For now, the Cybercab is only expected to show up in Tesla’s Austin employee program. Any broader robotaxi rollout still appears to be further off.