Tesla has announced that testing of its first production Cybercab has begun in Austin, Texas. While a number of Cybercab prototypes have been spotted on city streets over the last several months, this latest milestone is different – these vehicles are operating without a steering wheel or pedals.
The company shared footage on Monday night showing the purpose-built autonomous vehicle driving through Austin, marking the first time Tesla has publicly confirmed that production Cybercabs, aka the ones without manual controls, are undergoing real-world testing.
While the Cybercab itself is without human controls, the vehicles currently undergoing testing still include a safety monitor on board. Tesla has followed a similar approach when it launched its Robotaxi service in Austin last year, where employees rode in the front passenger seat while the vehicles operate autonomously within a limited service area.
Engineering tests of the first production Cybercab have begun in Austin pic.twitter.com/fk3KQvcE8a
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 30, 2026
Tesla first started production of the Cybercab in February. Soon after that, the company shared footage of the Cybercabs driving off the production line autonomously, without a steering wheel or pedals. However in the months since then, all of the Cybercab spotted testing on public roads have had manual controls, and a Tesla employee behind the wheel.
It wasn’t until last week that we started seeing steering wheel-less Cybercabs, however those appearances were on private property – specifically Tesla’s test track at Giga Texas. It appears as though that work behind the scenes was in preparation for the launch of these public tests.
Cybercab on the Giga Texas test track with no driver and no steering wheel, and an employee in the passenger seat. https://t.co/MOL191tj09 pic.twitter.com/4YvcWmoBfl
— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) June 27, 2026
Even though this is a big milestone, questions still remain around timing, scale, and regulatory approvals for a vehicle that lacks traditional driver controls entirely. However, seeing production Cybercabs operating on public roads indicates development is progressing and the company is closer than ever to deploying robotaxis without manual controls.
How close remains to be seen, but dozens of productions Cybercabs have been piling up in several cities, including over 70 in Dallas (via Reddit). We know these are production Cybercabs because they feature the new glossy finish, indicating Tesla is stockpiling inventory ahead of a widespread launch.
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