Tesla has deployed dozens of self-driving Cybercabs without steering wheels or brake pedals on the roads of Austin, Texas, as the company tests whether Americans are ready to ride in vehicles they cannot control themselves during an emergency.
The rollout on Thursday marks another step in billionaire Elon Musk’s push to expand Tesla’s autonomous driving ambitions, with the company planning to introduce the Cybercab service in several other cities.
Tesla shares also rose more than 5%, reflecting investor confidence that the futuristic robotaxi could prove popular.
Tesla has been promoting the vehicle on X with the slogan “no steering wheel, no pedals”, highlighting its fully autonomous design.
However, the company still faces significant challenges in catching up with rival Waymo in terms of the number of autonomous taxis and journeys completed.
Tesla must also demonstrate that its self-driving system, which relies solely on cameras, can safely navigate roads and avoid pedestrians.
By comparison, Waymo and Zoox use cameras alongside radar and lidar, a laser-based technology used to detect and map the vehicle’s surroundings.
Even if Tesla’s technology proves capable, the company still needs to convince Americans to trust vehicles without human controls.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in February found that seven in 10 US adults were uncomfortable with the idea of riding in a driverless vehicle.
Austin has already had Tesla’s self-driving robotaxi service since June 2025, although those vehicles were still equipped with steering wheels and brake pedals.
The service has since expanded to five other cities across Texas and Florida. During its initial rollout, passengers were accompanied by safety drivers who could take control if problems occurred.
The new Cybercab represents a more radical step, removing those traditional controls and putting greater emphasis on Tesla’s autonomous driving technology to handle unexpected situations on the road.
