Tesla Cybercab Production Begins, But Unsupervised FSD Remains Limited

Tesla has shared new footage of the start of production for Cybercab, showing the vehicle purpose-built for autonomy without a steering wheel or pedals driving off the line and out of the factory to an outbound lot.

While Tesla has now confirmed the official start of production, meeting its target of starting in April, shifting to a glossy gold paint instead of the matte finish we have seen on prototypes, the video highlights a growing contrast: the hardware is now ready, but the software needed to fully unlock it, Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD), remains in a very limited rollout.

Purpose-built for autonomy

Cybercab in production now at Giga Texas pic.twitter.com/Y9qG3KyWBa

— Tesla (@Tesla) April 23, 2026

Tesla’s Robotaxi service operating with unsupervised FSD is currently restricted to just three U.S. cities: Austin, Dallas, and Houston. Even then, the scale is extremely small. According to RobotaxiTracker.com, Tesla is running just 13 vehicles in Austin, along with only two vehicles each in Dallas and Houston. Additionally, these vehicles are not always available, only running at certain points on certain days, and they are confined to geofenced areas, which are particularly small in the newest markets, Dallas and Houston.

On yesterday’s Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk made it clear that any expansion of unsupervised FSD will be deliberate and measured, rather than a rapid nationwide rollout now that Cybercab is rolling off production lines, pointing to the complexity of real-world driving environments as a key reason for the cautious approach.

Glossy gold Cybercabs now appearing outside Giga Texas.

They look pretty sharp ✨ https://t.co/MgbdyRLtvS pic.twitter.com/xkebDelIJD

— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) April 23, 2026

That means gradually increasing both the size of the operating areas and the frequency of availability, while continuing to monitor performance and safety data before unlocking broader access.

“Well, we certainly hope to have unsupervised FSD or Robotaxi operating in, I don’t know, a dozen or so states by the end of this year. Initially, we’re taking a very cautious approach to the rollout here. We haven’t had any injuries and certainly no fatalities to date with the unsupervised FSD and Robotaxi expansion. We want to keep it that way. I think probably unsupervised FSD or Robotaxi revenue will not be super material this year, but I do think it’ll be material probably in a significant way next year.”

Cybercab production starts at Giga Texas pic.twitter.com/ujo7dbVfzL

— Tesla (@Tesla) April 22, 2026

That cautious strategy extends to customer vehicles as well. Musk suggested a broader release of unsupervised FSD to customers could begin later this year, but emphasized it would not happen all at once.

“I’m just guessing here, but [FSD unsupervised will] probably [be available] in the fourth quarter,” he said, noting the system will only be deployed in regions where Tesla is confident it can safely handle local road conditions, including complex intersections and challenging weather.

The result is a notable disconnect. Tesla is already producing vehicles that depend entirely on autonomy to function, yet the software enabling that autonomy is still in its early, tightly controlled stages, with no immediate signs of expansion. The Robotaxi service has been available in Austin since June last year, only removing the safety operator six months later, and even then, only on a dozen vehicles with limited operating windows.

The company is clearly betting that the software will catch up to the hardware in short order. Until that happens, however, there’s a real possibility that newly built Cybercabs will spend their early days parked in holding lots, effectively waiting for the software to mature enough to safely unlock their full, driverless potential.