The Cybercab may still be a few years away from production, but that is not stopping Tesla from testing the autonomous vehicle around the grounds of Giga Texas, leading to speculation it may enter production sooner than anticipated.
Tesla first unveiled the Cybercab in early October at a special event on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California. At the event were dozens of Cybercab prototypes, all driving autonomously, giving rides to attendees around the controlled environment of the studio lot.
At the time, CEO Elon Musk said the Cybercab would hopefully enter production in 2026, putting the car without a steering wheel or pedals about two years away.
Despite this long gap, Tesla has been testing the Cybercab at Giga Texas since its debut. It was first spotted driving around the grounds of the factory complex earlier this month, and now it has been spotted again by drone pilot Joe Tegtmeyer.
As you can see in the footage below, the Cybercab is driving along an active factory road with other vehicles operating around it, even crossing the path of the Cybercab, forcing it to slow down.
Cybercab testing at Giga Texas this morning … there is a chase black Model 3 following it along as it drives around the north & east sides of the factory today, continuing its drive testing! pic.twitter.com/QJRWWGjWLE
— Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer) November 27, 2024
What is interesting about this sighting is that Tesla has blocked any view of what is going on inside the Cybercab by completely tinting all of the car’s windows, so we don’t know if there is a human operator inside, if it is driving completely autonomously like at the ‘We, Robot’ event. There is even speculation among fans that Tesla is secretly testing it with a steering wheel and pedals and this car will launch as Tesla’s compact affordable vehicle next year.
According to Tegtmeyer, the Cybercab is also undergoing additional testing inside Giga Texas, specifically water ingress testing. Based on this, and the large amount of new production equipment that has arrived at the factory in recent weeks and months, Tegtmeyer believes production of the Cybercab will begin ahead of schedule in the second half of 2025.
If this is the case, and it does arrive without a steering wheel and pedals, Tesla will of course need to have solved FSD by that date.
What do you think? Will Tesla start production early? Will it be a completely autonomous vehicle, or will it have a steering wheel and pedals and be Tesla’s new affordable model? Take the poll and let us know in the comments below.
