On September 3, a landmark event for the entire autonomous vehicle industry took place in Austin, Texas. Tesla did not just hold a presentation—it launched a public Robotaxi service based on its new driverless Cybercab vehicles. These two-seater cars, devoid of steering wheels and pedals, are now available for booking in certain areas of the city, marking the commercial debut of the company's fully autonomous transportation.
As stated by Tesla's AI division head, Ashok Elluswamy, the service is open to everyone. The system automatically assigns a Cybercab based on demand and passenger count, while the option to manually select this model instead of the Model Y is not yet available. The company plans to introduce dynamic pricing, but specific rates remain undisclosed.
Launch figures and facts
According to Texas authorities, at the time of launch, Tesla had registered 420 autonomous vehicles in the state, of which 45 were the new Cybercabs. For comparison, its main competitor Waymo has 988 vehicles in Texas. Production of the Cybercab began in April 2026. It is worth recalling that the model, first unveiled in October 2024, is the world's first production robotaxi designed from scratch: gull-wing doors, wireless charging, and a complete absence of manual controls.
Elon Musk has repeatedly emphasized that the Cybercab will become the most mass-produced model in Tesla's history and the foundation of a global robotaxi network. The $30,000 price target announced in 2024 has not yet received official confirmation—the price for buyers at this stage has not been disclosed.
New business model and regulatory attention
Contrary to its previous strategy of developing exclusively its own fleet, Tesla has opened a form for third-party operators. Companies and entrepreneurs can now express interest in purchasing either individual Cybercabs or entire fleets for commercial use. This is a clear signal of the intention to accelerate network scaling by attracting partners, although specific terms of cooperation have not yet been revealed.
The successful launch did not go unnoticed by regulators. As early as September 4, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated an investigation into nearly 1,000 Cybercabs. The regulator intends to determine on what basis Tesla deemed the model compliant with federal safety standards, given the absence of traditional steering wheels, pedals, and mirrors. Federal rules restrict the commercial sale of such vehicles, although they do permit their use for testing purposes. Additionally, Tesla has not yet obtained permits for commercial operation of fully driverless vehicles in California.
It is worth noting that the Robotaxi service based on the Model Y is already operating in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, as well as in Florida—in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. The company has progressed from tests with a safety driver in the cabin in June 2025 to fully autonomous rides in December of the same year.
My analysis: The launch of the Cybercab in Austin is not just another pilot project, but Tesla's first real step toward commercializing its full self-driving technology. However, the decision to open sales to third-party operators appears to be a pragmatic acknowledgment that scaling a global robotaxi network alone will be extremely challenging. Nevertheless, the issue of compliance with federal safety standards remains a key challenge, and how Tesla resolves it with NHTSA will determine the pace of the company's expansion into other markets.