Since September 3, Tesla has allowed the general public to experience its new Cybercab in Austin, Texas, for a fee. The launch was officially announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, and the Robotaxi service confirmed the availability shortly after. However, the deployment is currently limited, with only 45 certified vehicles operating in a small area covering just a few neighborhoods. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal regulator for vehicle safety, has stated it is examining the launch to ensure compliance with existing standards. The Cybercab was first revealed in October 2024 during the We Robot event, held at a Warner Bros. studio near Los Angeles. It is an electric two-seater with butterfly doors, fully enclosed wheels, and a design that echoes the now-defunct Volkswagen XL1. Elon Musk had aimed for a price below $30,000 (around 25,800 euros), including induction charging and, most notably, no traditional driving controls—no steering wheel or pedals. Passengers could already sit inside the vehicle as early as the end of 2024. Production began at Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory in early 2026, and the vehicle’s final technical details are now known. The first images of the golden-colored coupes, shared by observer Sawyer Merritt, have been widely circulated on X. Tesla has been testing its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) technology for years on models like the Model 3, Y, S, and X, but those systems require a human driver to remain ready to take control. The Cybercab, however, represents a shift to an "Unsupervised" version of FSD, meaning it operates without a human safety net. The vehicle relies entirely on cameras and an onboard computer (the AI4 computer for the first wave). Tesla’s decision to use only cameras has been criticized by Waymo, the autonomous taxi division of Google, which uses a mix of sensors. Without a steering wheel, the only backup is a remote operator, a system Tesla has planned from the start. Ashok Elluswamy, head of AI at Tesla, announced during the event that the Robotaxi fleet—primarily Model Y vehicles—had recently surpassed one million miles traveled in full autonomy, or about 1.6 million kilometers. This distance doubled in just six weeks. The Cybercab’s passenger manual includes several unique features, such as a front light band that changes color to match the app, a cabin camera, a trunk with 572 liters of space, and a 22-inch screen. Notably, minors under the age of 13 are not allowed to ride. The seating is identical for both the driver and passenger, and no Isofix points for baby seats are planned. The main challenge Tesla faces is regulatory. A vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals does not meet current U.S. federal safety standards, which are designed for human drivers. Tesla has published a compliance guide outlining the relevant points and is seeking a waiver from the NHTSA to operate the Cybercab commercially. This mirrors the situation with Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous taxi service, which received a two-year commercial waiver in late July, limited to 2,500 vehicles annually and starting in Las Vegas. Tesla will likely face a similar, lengthy approval process. The NHTSA has emphasized it has not evaluated how the cars drive, only their mechanical compliance. Meanwhile, Tesla is rolling out FSD Supervised in Europe, but certifying a car with no controls at all will be even more complex due to differing regulations, including UNECE standards and national laws across the continent.