Overview
- Tesla unveiled the purpose‑built, steering‑wheel‑ and pedal‑free Cybercab on Sept. 3 and then began limited paid robotaxi rides in an Austin geofence to collect real‑world data.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an audit query that covers roughly 1,000 Cybercabs and will evaluate the technical data and legal decisions Tesla used to self‑certify compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
- Multiple riders posted videos on Sept. 7–8 showing a hidden cabin touchscreen with a virtual joystick for manual driving that appears designed for technicians to reposition vehicles at low speed.
- Tesla says the robotaxi program has logged about one million miles of unsupervised operation and the company is soliciting rider feedback, but the rollout has already pressured investors and coincided with a roughly 5–6% drop in Tesla shares.
- Regulators are drafting rule changes to adapt FMVSS to autonomous cars but those updates are not yet effective, and NHTSA’s audit outcome could force recalls, require exemption approvals, or set a precedent that shapes how other robotaxi makers deploy driverless vehicles.