A Tesla with no steering wheel or pedals has hit the road (1 photo)

Tesla has begun testing its Cybercab—an electric vehicle lacking traditional controls—on the streets of Austin, Texas. The company announced the move on social media, sharing a photo as confirmation. Tesla classifies the Cybercab as a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, and these tests are intended to validate that capability.



During the testing phase, Tesla aims to verify whether the Cybercab can truly handle various traffic scenarios autonomously and make sound decisions. Judging by the photo, the vehicle is being tested with an operator inside, though it remains unclear whether that person has the ability to intervene in the driving process.

A few days ago, ahead of the launch, Tesla released a set of guidelines for local emergency services outlining procedures for handling incidents involving the Cybercab—such as crashes or other situations requiring immediate intervention. It is worth noting that the production version of the vehicle lacks a steering wheel and pedals; such controls are found only on engineering prototypes, which typically do not exceed Level 2 autonomy.

The Cybercab is slated to become the primary vehicle for the robotaxi service Tesla is currently developing. However, the company also plans to sell the autonomous vehicles to private individuals.