Tesla’s Cybercab Pulls Up in Austin for First Public Test Rides With No Wheel Left to Hold

Gold two-seaters started carrying passengers through Austin this week after a quiet Thursday event and a Friday opening on Tesla’s Robotaxi app. Early riders who managed to snag one described a ride so uneventful it felt almost ordinary, which is the whole point of a taxi that never asks you to drive. Cybercab is a purpose-built two-door electric coupe with butterfly doors, no steering wheel, no pedals, and no side mirrors. Tesla designed it only for unsupervised robotaxi work. You book it the same way you book a Model Y robotaxi, then walk up to a car that opens itself when you are close enough. Doors also close on their own once both people are seated. A tap on Start Ride on the big center screen sends it rolling.

Austin is now the only city with Cybercabs; there are 45 on the books, but there are many more robotaxis, largely Model Ys, on Texas roadways. Testers have already commented on the wait times and how reasonable the drop-offs have been (albeit in some cases the car ended up a short walk away from where the rider wished to go). At the very least, NHTSA has stated that they are monitoring the deployment.

The Cybercab includes nine external cameras to keep an eye out, including one in the front, one in the back, one in each corner of the door pillars, two near the windshield, and two more on the front fenders. Plus a ninth, which monitors the inside for things like whether there are passengers, if the vehicle has to be cleaned before picking up the next person, and if there is any trash left behind. Because Teslas lack lidar and ultrasonic sensors, it is essentially reliant on cameras. They’re sticking with cameras and an unsupervised version of their entire self-driving software, dubbed SAE Level 4.

So far, the test rides appear to be fairly smooth, with a 14-minute clip from an Austin ride demonstrating no sharp brakes, no awkward turns, and the ability to comfortably pass over a speed bump. The suspension is mushy, and the cabin is relatively quiet. The voice assistant was the only thing that was a bit of a joke, but that was most likely a software error more than a flaw with the driving, as it handled a climate request like it was changing the destination.

The Cybercab is pared down to the essentials for a two-person taxi. It has just one front motor that produces 219 horsepower and drives the front wheels. The battery pack is a modest 48 kWh, the car weights 3,113 pounds, and the official fuel economy is 165 watt-hours per mile, which is the lowest Tesla has certified. The adjusted range comes out to approximately 293 miles. It also has a drag coefficient below 0.20 and exceptionally elegant aerodynamics. And body work saves time because the panels are molded in color and don’t need to be painted. They’ve even gone with a 48-volt system to reduce the number of wires required, linking brakes with actuators at each corner.

Inside the Cybercab, the space is fairly compact. The height is 55.4 inches, the width is 69 inches, and you have to hop over a 16.5 inch step-in, but once inside, you have 43.4 inches of legroom, which is more than you get in a Model Y if you sit in the back. Headroom measures 38.3 inches, and the seats recline individually while the bases move together. The dashboard leads directly to a 22-inch Unreal Engine-powered screen in the center of the automobile, with USB-C connectors below. It’s worth mentioning that the temperature and media account settings come from your Tesla profile but are cleared when you exit the vehicle. If you have a Starlink V5 installed, it will even provide a backup link if your cellular connection fails, and for charging, they are going to include inductive charging, which would allow you to simply park it over a pad and charge up to 19 kw without the need for a plug.

Cargo lives in the back trunk, which has a capacity of 20.2 cubic feet and a weight limit of 220 pounds. Your typical airline luggage can fit in here; two checked bags and two carry-ons should fit easily, and if you have a stroller or scooter, you can fold it up and chuck it in as well. Tesla claims it can accommodate a compact folded wheelchair. There is no front trunk or “frunk” for storing smaller objects.

So, what about safety? It’s quite impressive for a car with no humans in the cabin to intervene in the event of an emergency. There are numerous airbags, including front, knee, curtain, and seat-mounted airbags for both riders. If a seatbelt is unbuckled or a door is unlocked unexpectedly, the automobile simply slams on the brakes and pulls over. Tesla even displays a message on the screen instructing you to pull over immediately, and you’re connected to an emergency support system. Furthermore, children under the age of 13 are not permitted to ride in these vehicles, and anyone aged 13 to 17 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. There are no LATCH anchors here; instead, seatbelts are the way to go. One great feature is braille markings on the essential controls, making this vehicle accessible to everyone.

Production of this vehicle began in February at the Gigafactory in Texas, and we should expect to seec commercial production models on the road by the spring. Unlike some other manufacturers, Tesla’s Unboxed process allows them to build large parts of the car in parallel, rather than working from front to back on a single continuous production line. However, these vehicles will not be available for purchase by the general public just yet. However, fleet operators have already expressed interest, and they intend to set fares using dynamic pricing, which raises prices when demand is strong and lowers them when demand is low.