Tesla says it will start selling Cybercab robotaxis to customers by year-end
US carmaker Tesla said it will begin selling its driverless Cybercab by the end of the year, even as a federal safety regulator investigates whether it meets safety standards. For now, all vehicles built go to Tesla's own robotaxi fleet.
US electric-vehicle maker Tesla said on Wednesday that it will begin selling its autonomous two-seater Cybercab to customers by the end of this year. The announcement comes while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US federal auto safety regulator, is investigating whether the vehicle complies with safety standards. The outcome could affect whether Tesla or anyone else can legally operate the Cybercab.
The Cybercab is a gold-colored vehicle with no steering wheel or other traditional controls. On the company's third-quarter earnings call, Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of engineering, said every Cybercab built so far is destined for Tesla's own robotaxi fleet. As that fleet grows, the company will mainly deliver fully autonomous vehicles to customers, starting small. Tesla will scale up as it learns about delivery, ownership and fleet management of such vehicles.
A shift in plans
Tesla first raised the idea of selling the vehicle to third parties last month around its Cybercab event in Austin, and posted a form for interested buyers. CEO Elon Musk has long spoken of a large, low-cost robotaxi fleet, but those plans had centered on turning privately owned Tesla cars into self-driving taxis through a software update. That has not materialized.
Tesla owners can currently subscribe to Full Self-Driving (Supervised), a driver-assistance system that automates many tasks but still requires the driver to stay ready to take over. Musk said an unsupervised version would reach customers in the second quarter of next year, another delay. If both timelines hold, third-party fleet customers could buy the Cybercab before Tesla owners get comparable autonomy in their own cars.
Musk said the Cybercab is meant mainly as transport as a service, while models such as the 3, Y and Roadster are the cars people would want to own. Most Cybercabs, he said, will be Tesla-owned.
Regulator's investigation
NHTSA announced the investigation last month, hours after the Cybercabs began operating on public streets in Austin. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require manual controls such as brake pedals, plus rearview and side mirrors. Automakers self-certify compliance, and Tesla did so. Current rules do not accommodate vehicles without manual controls, though the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing those requirements for vehicles designed to be driven autonomously.
