CEO Elon Musk says it has started engineering tests of the Cybercab in Austin. A newly released video shows an engineering vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals taking a safety monitor to a destination in the East Riverside neighborhood, past Willow Creek Drive.
The tests arrive after the Cybercab has been spotted driving around Austin for months, often with a steering wheel and a person in the driver’s seat. Now, the engineering tests are the latest indication that Tesla is preparing to add the vehicle to its robotaxi fleet, following recent regulatory activity.
A filing with the Environmental Protection Agency revealed specs for the vehicle, including its 219-horsepower and 418-mile range. And last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed revisions to the current requirements that all light vehicles contain hand- or foot-operated, removing those requirements for vehicles designed never to be operated by a human.
Currently, Tesla’s robotaxi fleet of Model Ys — 84 vehicles spread between Austin, Dallas and Houston — has tallied 18 crashes around Austin since launching in June 2025. And recent polling has suggested Texans disapprove of Cybercabs offering commercial rides, with 66% of Austin survey respondents opposing the operations.