WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Electric-vehicle major Tesla Inc. has started offering Cybercab rides in limited areas of Austin, Texas. The two-seater vehicle comes without a steering wheel or pedals.
The exclusive Cybercab launch event was conducted in Austin on Thursday for the golden, butterfly-door cars. In the event, which was attended by investors, potential customers and social media personalities, the executives detailed on dynamic pricing plans, which would rise with demand, along with its manufacturing and technology.
Meanwhile, U.S. auto safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reportedly responded that it is in contact with Tesla and is evaluating the situation. As per federal safety rules, vehicles require human controls, and and sales of vehicles without a steering wheel and pedals are limited. Meanwhile, established manufacturers are allowed to deploy an unlimited number of such vehicles for testing.
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has called the vehicle the first car that is specifically built for unsupervised full self-driving.
Cybercab is considered a key to transforming Tesla ?into a dominant force in driverless vehicles, and that eventually, it will be Tesla's largest-volume vehicle, supplying a global network of robotaxis.
The development comes as Tesla's core EV business faces pressure from global competition, mainly Chinese EV makers.
According to Musk, expanding the robotaxi service and wider adoption of its full self-driving software is key to Tesla's growth strategy.
Tesla has a limited robotaxi ride-hailing service with a network of autonomous Model Ys. Over time, the company plans to make the no-steering-wheel Cybercab the main driverless vehicle model operating within a larger robotaxi network.
The company launched a pilot robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025, and since then has expanded it into certain other cities. Tesla currently offers driverless rides in several U.S. cities, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa.
Tesla reportedly has 420 autonomous vehicles registered in Texas as of Wednesday evening, including 45 Cybercab vehicles.
Alphabet's Waymo, Tesla's rival in the autonomous driverless taxis, has 988 vehicles registered in the state.
Earlier this week, Waymo said it has expanded its public robotaxi service to Denver, San Diego and Tampa, bringing the Alphabet-owned company's commercial operations to 14 U.S. cities as it continues to widen its lead in the autonomous ride-hailing market.
In pre-market activity on Nasdaq, Tesla shares wre losing around 2.09 percent, trading at $368.50, after closing Thursday's regular trading 5.42 percent higher.
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