Tesla Cybercab has hidden manual driving controls — here’s how they work

The Cybercab may not have a steering wheel or pedals, but as we’ve seen from videos of test vehicles, they can still be operated manually through the touchscreen. Thanks to what appears to have been a bug, we now have an idea of what those control looks like and how they operate.

On Sunday there were at least two separate reports from Cybercab riders that a developer interface had been left open on the vehicle’s display, revealing a virtual joystick used to manually control the purpose-built robotaxi.

The interface takes up part of Cybercab’s centre display and includes an on-screen joystick for steering and movement, along with controls for the brakes, horn, doors and support.

Weird #cybercab situation! When I got in the vehicle, the display was in a different configuration with a virtual joystick for manual driving! I have a feeling I wasn’t supposed to see this… but I try to manually drive the vehicle anyway! 😂 @wholemars @DirtyTesLa @DavidMoss… pic.twitter.com/mQsoDFDbEJ

— Matthew Skrzypczak (@MatthewSkrzypc1) September 7, 2026

The system is clearly not intended for passengers. Instead, it gives Tesla employees and technicians a way to manually move a Cybercab when needed, such as around a service centre, depot or parking lot. These controls may also become available to emergency first responders, based on what we’ve seen in the First Responders Guide.

While the manual controls are there, they are not for all driving scenarios, but appears to be limited to speeds below 8 mph (13 km/h).

As we noted, this isn’t the first time the interface has been spotted. A Tesla validation employee was recently filmed using similar touchscreen controls to reposition a Cybercab at a Supercharger.

Robotaxi with NO DRIVER and NO WHEEL parking at a supercharger here in Austin Texas!!! pic.twitter.com/syhLquvjCb

— Caleb Barry (@BarryGoodStocks) August 30, 2026

The feature provides an interesting look at how Tesla handles one of the practical challenges of building a vehicle with no conventional driving controls. Even a fully autonomous robotaxi still occasionally needs to be moved manually, and rather than installing permanent hardware, Tesla has built that capability directly into the software.

I can confidently say I am the closest person from the public to being able to drive a Tesla Cybercab 😂

So close yet so far

The vehicle arrived in some sort of mode I think it goes into at a supercharger for manual assistance

I couldn’t use any apps & the left repeater… pic.twitter.com/6lmWE6V8cT

— David Moss (@DavidMoss) September 8, 2026