Tesla starts Cybercab rides in Austin, drawing US safety agency interest

Tesla it was offering rides in “limited areas of Austin, Texas” in its two-seater Cybercab, a vehicle without ​a steering wheel or pedals, with the U.S. auto safety agency responding that it was evaluating the effort.

CEO Elon Musk has said the Cybercab is key to transforming Tesla ‌into a dominant force in driverless vehicles. Tesla in recent weeks has promoted what it called an exclusive “Cybercab launch event” in Austin on Thursday, drawing interest from investors and fans, some of whom came to Texas to try out the golden, butterfly-door cars.

Musk himself skipped the event, attendees said, and remarks from executives on pricing plans, manufacturing and technology lasted only about a quarter of an hour, according to videos posted after the event.

The electric-vehicle maker has a limited robotaxi ride-hailing service with ​a network of autonomous Model Ys, some with human safety monitors. Its fleet registered in Texas is less than half that of autonomous rival Waymo, whose autonomous service has cars with human ​controls – but no human drivers. Over time, Tesla intends to make the no-steering-wheel Cybercab the main driverless vehicle model operating within a larger robotaxi network.

Federal safety ⁠norms typically require human controls, and the safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, signaled its interest in Tesla’s activity.

“NHTSA is in contact with Tesla and is evaluating the situation,” the spokesperson said, without ​elaborating.

Tesla updated its robotaxi website, saying Cybercab rides were available only in some parts of Austin. Tesla did not specify when it would charge fares, although executives at the event described plans to use dynamic pricing, ​which would rise with demand, while promising “a first-class experience at coach price”.

Tesla AI Chief Ashok Elluswamy, one of the presenters, said that anyone could ride. “It’s open to the entire public,” he said.