Tesla plans to begin selling its Cybercab, a two-seat fully autonomous robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals, to individual buyers by the end of the year. The vehicle is designed to operate using Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) without human intervention or supervision. Regulatory hurdles remain, raising questions about whether the plan can be implemented.
Tesla said during its third-quarter earnings conference call on Oct. 21 local time that it would sell the Cybercab to general consumers, individual buyers and corporate fleet operators. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk first raised the possibility of selling the Cybercab to individuals at an official event in October 2024. In February 2026, he also outlined plans to price the personal-use Cybercab below $30,000.
The Cybercab has been in mass production at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas since April 2026. The vehicle began commercial operations in Austin, Texas, and has since expanded to Dallas and Houston in Texas, as well as Miami, Orlando and Tampa in Florida.
Musk said initial customer deliveries would be closer to a beta-testing program, with most Cybercabs primarily offered as “transportation as a service” and owned directly by Tesla. He also emphasized that the number of Cybercabs operating in Austin had increased more than tenfold within a month of launch, while the distance driven by the vehicles was also growing rapidly.
The Cybercab has no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals, or side mirrors. Unless its FSD software is fully developed and receives legal approval, users will have no way to drive the vehicle themselves. Individuals seeking to operate a vehicle without a steering wheel on public roads must also obtain approval for fully driverless vehicles from regulators in their respective countries. If individuals are permitted to operate Cybercabs that cannot be manually controlled, questions could arise over licensing requirements and driving qualification tests. Tesla may therefore target individual entrepreneurs seeking to operate “mini robotaxi fleets” through the Tesla Network rather than consumers looking for everyday personal vehicles.
Amazon’s Zoox also operates autonomous vehicles without steering wheels. Zoox launched its service with purpose-built, bidirectional autonomous vehicles that have neither steering wheels nor pedals. Alphabet’s Waymo unveiled its Ojai robotaxi concept, developed with Zeekr RT, in 2022 without a steering wheel, but the Ojai vehicle shown in May 2026 featured one. All of Waymo’s driverless robotaxis allow human intervention, although they are designed to detect when a passenger grabs the steering wheel and resist attempts to control the vehicle.
Tesla reported third-quarter revenue of about $28 billion, largely unchanged from a year earlier, down 0.2%, and slightly above the $27.88 billion consensus estimate compiled by Reuters. Automotive revenue fell 3% to $20.56 billion, while energy revenue declined 16% to $2.881 billion. Gross margin improved 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 19.6%.
However, increased spending on AI and Optimus drove operating profit down 56% to $718 million, while net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) fell 43% to $787 million. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.48 exceeded the $0.45 estimate, but capital expenditures more than doubled to $4.732 billion from $2.248 billion a year earlier. Free cash flow (FCF) declined to $1.53 billion.
Alongside its earnings announcement, Tesla said it had begun initial production of its Optimus humanoid robot at its Fremont factory. Establishing production capacity of 20,000 units per week is expected to take at least a year. The company is targeting deliveries to external customers by the end of 2027. Musk acknowledged that while the robot represents its first commercial-quality product, significant improvements are still needed in its design and AI capabilities.
