Tesla to sell autonomous Cybercab by year‑end

Tesla announced it will start selling its Cybercab autonomous vehicle by the end of the year. The two‑seat, driver‑less car has no steering wheel or traditional controls and is designed mainly for ride‑hailing services. It will initially be part of Tesla’s own robotaxi fleet, and the company said it will mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to customers as the fleet grows. Tesla first floated the idea of selling the Cybercab last month at its Austin event and posted a form for people interested in buying robotaxis.

NHTSA investigation

The NHTSA has opened an investigation into whether the Cybercab meets federal safety standards because it lacks manual controls such as a brake pedal and mirrors that are required by current regulations. Tesla had self‑certified the vehicle, but the investigation could affect whether the Cybercab can be legally operated. Meanwhile, Elon Musk said an unsupervised Full Self‑Driving system could be released next year, which would allow Tesla owners to use autonomous driving after the Cybercab becomes available to third‑party fleets. Musk also noted that the Cybercab is intended to be a transport‑as‑a‑service vehicle rather than one people own.

Tesla shares are trading, and the company has a market cap of about $1.48 trillion.