Tesla’s push toward launching its first purpose-built robotaxi appears to be accelerating, with new activity at Giga Texas pointing to a Cybercab production timeline that is rapidly coming into focus.
During a drone flyover on Monday, Cybercab castings were spotted near the factory’s casting area, something which has become a common sight over the past several months. However, more importantly, a growing number of vehicles are now clustered around the site’s crash testing facility—clear signs that Tesla is entering the final stages before manufacturing begins.
According to drone pilot Joe Tegtmeyer, the Cybercab castings were positioned both on the ground and stored in racks around the Giga Texas casting section, indicating structural components are already being produced or staged ahead of assembly.
At the same time, more than two dozen Cybercabs were spotted at the crash testing facility nearby, with several vehicles uncovered, or only partially covered. The scale of activity points to more than just isolated prototypes, reinforcing the view that Tesla is now operating in a coordinated pre-production phase.
This latest progress builds on momentum seen earlier this fall. In October, Cybercab prototypes were spotted at Giga Texas’ crash testing facility at the same time another unit was seen testing at Tesla’s Fremont factory in California. That simultaneous activity across two major Tesla sites was widely interpreted as a sign the vehicle had entered late-stage validation, covering both manufacturing readiness and real-world testing.
Crash testing is typically one of the final hurdles before Tesla transitions a new vehicle into pilot production. The Cybercab’s presence at the Austin crash lab closely mirrors the timeline previously followed by the Cybertruck, which entered similar testing roughly one to two months before production units began rolling off the line.
Based on what we are seeing at Giga Texas, Elon Musk’s April 2026 production timeline appears increasingly realistic.
Not all of the evidence of production is visible from the outside. Over recent months, new equipment deliveries and tooling installations tied directly to Cybercab production have been documented at Giga Texas.
While all of this activity is going on at the Giga Texas factory site, it is worth noting that vehicle production is currently shut down for the holidays, meaning visible progress will likely pause temporarily before ramping back up in the new year.
Related Stories:
• Tesla Puts Production-Ready Cybercab on Display in California
• Tesla’s Cybercab spotted testing on public roads in Austin for the first time
• Tesla Cybercab reaches major milestone after visit to In-N-Out drive-thru
