Elon Musk has sent dozens of self‑driving Cybercabs gold‑coloured Teslas with no steering wheels or brake pedals onto the streets of Austin, Texas, marking one of the boldest moves yet in the race to dominate autonomous ride‑hailing. The rollout tests whether Americans are ready to ride in vehicles where passengers have “no control” in an emergency.
Tesla shares jumped more than 5% on Thursday as investors bet the futuristic taxis could revive the company’s momentum after a slump in vehicle sales. Musk hyped the launch on X, posting a giant Cybercab floating above the Austin skyline and declaring: “A Storm of Cybercabs.” An invitation‑only event was expected later in the day.
It remains unclear how quickly Musk plans to expand the service to other cities, but Tesla faces pressure to move fast. The company trails Waymo, the current leader in autonomous taxis, in both fleet size and total completed trips. To catch up, Tesla must prove its camera‑only system can safely navigate traffic and avoid pedestrians a stark contrast to rivals like Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox, which use radar and lidar alongside cameras.
The Cybercab launch marks a high‑stakes gamble: if Tesla’s minimalist, steering‑wheel‑free design wins public trust, it could reshape the robotaxi market. If not, Tesla risks falling further behind competitors already operating at scale.
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