Tesla Inc.'s newest vehicle model is officially part of its Texas fleet of robotaxis.
The Austin automaker has registered 45 Cybercabs with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles ahead of the purpose-built robotaxi's public launch Thursday in its hometown.
Few details about what Tesla is calling the "Cybercab Launch Event" have been made public. Riders of its current fleet of Robotaxi-branded Model Y vehicles were offered a chance to take part, and Tesla has sent invitations to select guests, according to social media posts.
No time or location for the event had been officially announced, though, leading to consternation among some who apparently have been invited. In response to one of them on X, Tesla engineer Eric Earley said the event would be at 4:45 p.m. downtown with "rest of the details" going out to guests later. An earlier Tesla announcement said it would be at Gigafactory Texas.
Tesla usually livestreams major events, as it did when it rolled out Cybertruck in late 2023 at Gigafactory Texas, but it had not confirmed whether it planned to do so Thursday.
What is known is that CEO Elon Musk is banking much of Tesla's success on expanding its robotaxi business. For years, he's been suggesting fully autonomous vehicles are near and will be the company's future, but Tesla has yet to deliver.
In 2013, he said 90% of all Tesla miles driven would be autonomous within three years, for example, and about a year ago claimed that by early this year half of the U.S. population would be served by Tesla robotaxis. Neither came to pass.
As a step toward such goals, in 2024 he announced the Cybercab, a gold two-seater with butterfly doors and no steering wheel or control pedals. But even with the addition of 45 Cybercabs, Tesla's Texas fleet is still dwarfed by Waymo, the Google-owned industry leader.
Under a new state law, such driverless vehicle data first appeared in public records in June. Then, Tesla had registered just 42 of its Robotaxi-branded Model Y vehicles while Waymo had nearly 600 of its Jaguar I-PACE vehicles across Texas. Now, data from an online dashboard tracking automated motor vehicles shows Tesla's total fleet, largely made up of Model Ys, stands at 314. But Waymo continues to lead with nearly 1,000 vehicles registered for commercial operations in the state.
As it's expanded its lead, Waymo often takes subtle digs at robotaxi operators that aren't taking the same approach of using multimodal sensors – a slap directly at Musk, who has said autonomous vehicles need only cameras and artificial intelligence.
"Cameras are incredible, but they aren't enough," Waymo said in a recent blog post. "For years, there's been a debate over whether cameras alone could solve full autonomy. Now, after more than 200 million real-world miles, the data is clear: safe, fully autonomous operations at scale require more."
Tesla Cybercabs are seen on a lot at Gigafactory Texas in April, when the automaker began production of the new purpose-built robotaxi. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Waymo and virtually all other robotaxi companies use a combination of lidar, radar, cameras, audio receivers and AI computers.
Nonetheless, Tesla has indicated its intention to continue growing its fleet and geographic reach using its camera-only system. At the end of August, Tesla expanded its robotaxi service area in Dallas, for example, widening its reach beyond downtown.
Outside of Texas, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was impressed after riding in a Cybercab at SunTrax, the Central Florida transportation testing grounds, saying the vehicle "successfully navigated all hazards." Last month, Cybercab sightings also began in San Francisco, where Tesla lacks approval for autonomous vehicles and has been offering a ride-hailing service that arrives with a driver at the wheel.
