Tesla’s Steering-Wheel-Less Cybercab Rolls Out in Austin

Photo credit: JT59052914
On December 18th, a gleaming new Tesla Cybercab slowly emerged from an underground parking lot in downtown Austin, Texas, and glided onto public highways. The images obtained at the time clearly show that there is no steering wheel, not even a single pedal, and the interior appears to be one large smooth surface with room for two people.

People quickly began taking photos and sharing them on social media, making this the first verifiable sighting of a near-production Cybercab on public roads without a steering wheel. You can bet that a Tesla engineer was sitting in one of the seats as the car drove along, keeping a close eye on things because emergency overrides are still rather limited at this point in the testing process.

Austin is where Tesla is really pushing the pedal to the metal with its autonomous technology; they already operate a robotaxi service there, utilizing modified Model Y vehicles. Throwing this dedicated Cybercab into the mix indicates what their ambitions are for 2026. Even in the photographs, you can see the design details that stick out, like as the frameless windows, which resemble recent Model 3 and Model Y improvements, and the warm glow of the ambient lighting within. When everything else is taken care of, the dashboard is truly basic, with only one large center screen required. Part of the attractiveness of this EV is that it was developed with simplicity in mind, resulting in a 50% reduction in the number of parts as compared to the Model 3, and is expected to help lower the price down to approximately $30,000.

You’ve certainly seen some earlier prototypes with a temporary steering wheel in them as a relic from testing days, but this time they’ve removed it completely, in line with Tesla’s vision of what an autonomous vehicle should be like. As for when it will all go into production, you can bet it will have wireless charging, self-cleaning, and of course no need for a driver to control it.

Regulators are keeping an eye on everything, as cars without standard controls are now subject to far more scrutiny, but Tesla is forging on anyhow, betting that its software will be fine. In Texas, full unsupervised driving from owner cars may become more common. And you can bet that once that happens, there will be an increasing number of Cybercabs on the streets, as Tesla ramps up production in Austin for a huge hit next year.

Every mile logged now simply refines the system’s ability to deal with real-world traffic, roadwork, and pedestrians. Passengers in the future Cybercab will be able to sit opposite each other in an open environment with no wheels to restrict their vision, directed instead by cameras and sensors. They can expect to travel in peaceful comfort, be summoned to their door via an app, and even divide the costs with pals so they can go for a ride for a fraction of the price of a cab.
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