Tesla is preparing to launch its Cybercab robotaxi to the public as early as this month, starting in Austin, Texas, according to a report by The Information. The company has reportedly told employees it is gearing up for the rollout, marking a significant step in its self driving ambitions.
Cybercab is Tesla’s specially built self driving vehicle that has no pedals and no steering wheel, and it is central to the company’s plans for a fully autonomous robotaxi service. Unlike Tesla’s existing robotaxi trials, which use modified versions of regular Tesla cars with a safety driver on board, Cybercab is designed from the ground up to operate without any human at the controls.
According to the report, Tesla plans to begin the rollout carefully and in stages. First, the company will offer rides in Cybercabs to its own employees on public roads. A few days after that, Cybercabs are expected to be added to Tesla’s existing robotaxi service that already operates in Austin, joining the fleet of vehicles currently ferrying paying passengers around the city.
Before taking this public step, Tesla has reportedly been running test drives, offering employee rides on private roads, and even training local first responders on how to handle the new vehicles safely in case of an emergency. Tesla started testing production versions of the Cybercab on public roads back in June this year, and the company has said it expects production of the vehicle to ramp up later in the year.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the report. If the launch goes ahead as planned, it would mark an important milestone for Tesla, moving the company from testing modified passenger cars to deploying a vehicle purpose built for driverless operation. It would also put Tesla in more direct competition with other robotaxi operators such as Waymo, which already runs driverless taxi services in several major US cities.
Source: The Business Times, Singapore — https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/transport-logistics/tesla-prepares-cybercab-launch-august-starting-rides-employees-report
