- Tesla is building a fully autonomous car, called Cybercab, for its robotaxi service.
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that people will be able to buy the car.
- The Cybercab still needs regulatory approval in order to be street legal.
Tesla says its purpose-built robotaxi just reached an important manufacturing milestone.
In an X post on Tuesday, the company said the Cybercab, a two-door car without a steering wheel, came off the production line at Tesla’s sprawling Gigafactory in Austin.
“Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab!” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X.
The Cybercab was designed for Tesla’s nascent robotaxi ride-hailing program.
Tesla’s robotaxi program has so far deployed only 2025 Model Ys and mostly relies on human safety monitors to supervise rides. Tesla began offering a limited number of unsupervised rides to the public in January.
Unlike the Model Y, the Cybercab doesn’t have a steering wheel or pedals — it’s intended to be fully autonomous. Amazon’s Zoox similarly manufactures purpose-built robotaxis designed solely to transport passengers.
Tesla has said it expects to start production of the Cybercab in April.
What’s less clear is the timeline for when the automaker expects the Cybercab to be fully street legal.
Federal vehicle safety standards were written with human control systems like a steering wheel in mind, which means Tesla would likely need special approval from regulators for any requirements it can’t meet. Notably, Zoox received such a federal exemption and now operates a limited public service in Las Vegas and San Francisco.
Musk also said people will have the option to buy the car. Selling a car without pedals or steering controls not only requires clearing federal regulatory hurdles but could also expose Tesla to a patchwork of state-by-state rules governing registration, insurance, and autonomous vehicle operation.
“What we designed is optimized for autonomy,” Musk said during an earnings call in October 2024. “It will cost on the order of — cost roughly 25K, so it is a 25K car. And you can, you will be able to buy one exclusively if you want.”
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
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