TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams experienced a production version of the Cybercab at the Texas Innovation Invitational and wrote on LinkedIn afterward that the purpose-built robotaxi will “dramatically scale” Tesla’s cab operations over the coming months.
“Observing this vehicle firsthand — from its design and butterfly doors to the cargo trunk configuration — provides a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving,” Williams wrote. “Sitting inside the cabin, the complete absence of traditional driver controls underscores a significant shift in mobility and vehicle design. No steering wheel, no accelerator, no brake. Only a single touch-screen monitor.”
The invitational, meant to highlight emerging technologies and potential safety improvements, arrived as Tesla runs operates a robotaxi fleet of just 69 Model Ys across the Lone Star State. It’s a fleet size dwarfed by Waymo’s 620 vehicles in Texas.
As Williams wrote, the Cybercab is expected to eventually be folded into Tesla’s robotaxi fleet and could help boost its number of vehicles on the road. For now, sightings of the vehicle without a steering wheel have been limited to the company’s Austin factory and conference settings.
In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week, the two asked the agency whether it has evaluated claims Tesla has avoided reporting crashes under a standing general order when there’s a connectivity glitch. They also questioned whether Tesla followed guidelines that instruct companies to report a crash if an automated driving system was used within 30 seconds of the crash.
“Without stronger reporting and validation requirements, NHTSA cannot determine whether an [autonomous vehicle] company’s public safety claims bear any relationship to reality,” the letter says. “It is deeply concerning that Tesla — or any company — can be in compliance with the [standing general order] and, at the same time, so blatantly misrepresent the safety of its technology to the public.”
In late April, Tesla said the Cybercab was officially in production at Gigafactory Texas, posting a video of the vehicle self-driving at the factory outside Austin. Musk recently posted that updates to FSD will include saved parking preferences and that in about three months, Tesla FSD will include the functionality to give drop-off instructions to Grok as one would with an Uber driver.
The senators are expected to receive more details about NHTSA’s oversight of Tesla by July 6, according to the letter outlining disclosure requirements they would like to see the agency implement. That includes requiring robotaxi companies to report non-crash safety incidents such as sudden stops or traffic violations.
The two are also calling on NHTSA to share key details of autonomous vehicle crashes such as vehicle miles traveled, crash severity, data and methodology related to public safety claims, and more.