Tesla has officially started offering Cybercab rides in Austin, Texas , its new two-seat robotaxi that drives completely on its own.
The Cybercab has no steering wheel, no pedals and no human driver. You request the ride, get in, and the car handles the rest. It uses Tesla’s camera-based self-driving system, while remote operators can monitor the vehicles.
Because this isn’t just another Tesla.
Musk wants Cybercab to become part of a huge driverless ride-hailing network : Basically an Uber where the driver doesn’t exist.
And Tesla wants the cars to eventually become cheap enough and widespread enough to make autonomous rides an everyday thing.
Just one day after the launch, America’s vehicle-safety regulator, NHTSA(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) , opened an investigation into how Tesla certified the Cybercab.
The problem? Existing U.S. safety rules were written around cars with things like steering wheels, pedals and mirrors ,exactly the things Cybercab doesn’t have.
For now,Cybercab rides are limited to parts of Austin. Tesla’s robotaxi rollout has been much slower than the company originally promised.
The real question:
Would you trust an AI to drive you around with literally no human backup?
