Tesla deploys empty two-seat Cybercab pod on public Austin street

Tesla’s Cybercab, the company’s purpose-built two-seat autonomous pod with no steering wheel and no pedals, has been spotted on a public street in Austin, Texas. The deployment marks a tangible escalation in Tesla’s push to build a robotaxi service that can compete with Waymo, which already operates commercial driverless rides in multiple US cities. What the Cybercab actually is First unveiled in October 2024, the Cybercab is not a modified Tesla sedan with the driver’s seat ripped out. It’s a ground-up design built specifically for autonomous ride-hailing, seating exactly two passengers and featuring zero traditional driving controls. No steering wheel, no brake pedal, no accelerator. Production of the Cybercab began at Gigafactory Texas in 2026. Early units reportedly included temporary controls, likely for testing and regulatory compliance purposes, before the company transitions to fully autonomous versions. The pod spotted on Austin’s streets appears to represent that next phase: an empty vehicle, no human aboard, navigating public roads on its own. Austin as Tesla’s autonomy proving ground Austin has become Tesla’s primary testing laboratory for its robotaxi ambitions. The co...