Tesla is inviting select customers to buy the Cybercab for personal use at $29,990 plus a $299 monthly subscription, with deliveries estimated for December 2026 in Austin.
Tesla has started selling the Cybercab to private buyers in the US. The company’s Robotaxi account on X said that “select customers are now being invited to purchase Cybercab for personal use,” and the order page lists the two-seater at US$29,990 before taxes. No Tesla has ever cost less.
The Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, so its owner cannot drive it. To operate, it needs Tesla’s Autonomy Subscription, which costs US$299 a month. The first month is included with the car, and the subscription is then billed each month until it is cancelled. Over a year, it costs US$3,588.
Placing an order needs a non-refundable deposit of US$1,000, and the order page shows an estimated delivery date of December 2026 in Austin, Texas.
Only within Robotaxi service areas. The email Tesla sent to invited customers says initial availability is limited, and that the car can only be used in supported service areas. Owners monitor the car and manage their rides in an app.
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vice president of AI software, said on X that owners’ Cybercabs will drive unsupervised in all of the same areas as the Robotaxi service.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service uses the Model Y, which runs without a safety monitor in eight US cities. They are Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas, and Miami, Orlando and Tampa in Florida. Rides in the San Francisco Bay Area still have a Tesla safety monitor on board.
Cybercab rides are only offered in Austin for now, where more than 300 of them run alongside the Model Y robotaxis. Tesla plans to start Cybercab rides in Dallas in November.
Owners can’t put their Cybercab on the Robotaxi network to earn money, unless Tesla allows it in writing or enables the feature. On the same earnings call, Musk said the vast majority of Cybercabs will be owned by Tesla and offered as a ride-hailing service.
The subscription covers autonomous driving, connectivity, remote support and roadside assistance, including towing of up to about 50 miles (80 km) to a Tesla service centre or the owner’s home. Tyre and windscreen replacement, wipers, cabin air filters and camera cleaning are also covered. For scheduled servicing, the car drives itself to the service centre and back with nobody inside, or it’s transported there if needed.
Owners are responsible for registration, insurance, parking, charging and general cleaning. Unplanned repairs aren’t included, though the vehicle warranty may cover them.
The car is for personal use only, so third-party ride-hailing, delivery and rental work is off limits without Tesla’s approval. Wraps, window tint and wheel changes have to be done by Tesla or an authorised provider.
It only operates in areas Tesla enables, which may differ from the Robotaxi service’s areas and can be expanded or reduced. Tesla can also restrict the car by road type or weather. It can remotely locate, restrict or take control of the car, or put it in a safe state. Three or more “strikeouts” for improper or unsafe use lead to a one-week suspension, during which the car may not operate and the monthly payment isn’t prorated.
There are manual controls for moving the car at up to 2 mph (3 km/h), but they aren’t meant for public roads and need a valid US driving licence. The subscription renews monthly and can be cancelled at any time, with no refund for a part month. Tesla says it will give a month’s notice before changing the price.
Tesla’s Motor Vehicle Binding Order Agreement for the Cybercab bars owners from selling or transferring the car without Tesla’s written permission. Doing so carries damages of at least US$50,000 or the full value of the deal, whichever is higher, and Tesla can also disable the car. Tesla reserves the right to buy the car back at any time, at a fair market value it determines.
Each car is road tested before delivery, so it arrives with about 250 miles (400 km) on the odometer. Those miles count towards the warranty’s mileage limits. The Cybercab can only be charged at NACS DC fast chargers, including Tesla Superchargers.
Inside, there are two fully adjustable seats, wraparound ambient lighting and a 21-inch centre touchscreen. Tesla quotes 20.1 cubic feet (569 litres) of storage space, enough for luggage, golf clubs and scooters.
The Cybercab’s filing with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows a battery of about 47.6 kWh and a single 163 kW (222 PS) motor driving the front wheels. It weighs 1,412 kg. Its unadjusted combined range in the EPA test is 418.2 miles (673 km), which should work out to an official EPA figure of around 470 km.
The body panels get their gold colour from reaction injection moulding instead of paint, and the butterfly doors open and close automatically. There are no side mirrors or rear window.
Tesla self-certified the Cybercab as meeting US federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS), even though it has no steering wheel, pedals or mirrors. It doesn’t have an exemption from those standards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an audit query in early September, just as Cybercab rides started. A week later, it issued a special order requiring Tesla to give sworn answers to 21 questions on how the car complies. Tesla filed its response on October 30 and asked for the entire file to be kept confidential. NHTSA hasn’t announced any findings yet.
In June, NHTSA proposed dropping the brake pedal requirement for vehicles that are built only for autonomous driving.
Tesla is moving the Cybercab from its own Robotaxi fleet to private ownership for the first time, while keeping tight control over how the vehicle is used, where it can operate and whether it can be resold.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
The day's checked news, by email
One short email a day with the top stories. Free, and you can unsubscribe in one click.
Or follow for the latest news:
No comments yet. Start the discussion.
Microsoft says it has completed efforts to address the underlying issue and restored service to remaining impacted customers and regions after a more than 24-hour outage affecting Outlook, Teams and Copilot.
Microsoft says Outlook, Teams and Copilot are fully restored after a worldwide outage that affected more than 70 countries and more than 430 million users.
