Tesla’s Driverless Cybercab Is Rolling Off the Factory Floor.
Quick Reads
- Tesla Cybercab production has officially begun at Giga Texas
- Elon Musk announced the news via a video post on X. Tesla reported Q1 profits of $477 million the same week
- Volume production of both Cybercab and Tesla Semi is expected this year
- Tesla’s robotaxi launch comes years after Waymo began commercial service in 2021
Tesla has officially started producing its long-awaited autonomous robotaxi, the Cybercab, and CEO Elon Musk made sure the world knew about it. Musk posted a promotional video on X with the brief caption, “Cybercab has started production.” The 38-second clip, mostly shot from within a driverless Cybercab, showed the vehicle rolling off the factory floor and driving onto streets.
The announcement landed in the same week Tesla had already been riding a wave of good news. Tesla reported first-quarter profits of $477 million, beating expectations, and said it was on track to commence volume production of both its Cybercab and Tesla Semi this year.
Tesla Cybercab production did not appear out of nowhere. The auto manufacturer posted a photo back in February showing employees gathered around a Cybercab on a factory floor, with the caption “First Cybercab off the production line at Giga Texas.” The momentum had been building, but Friday’s announcement made it official.
Musk was candid about the pace, noting on a Wednesday earnings call that the initial rollout of Tesla Cybercab production would be “very slow, but then ramping up and going exponential.” That kind of measured start is not unusual for a vehicle this technically complex, but Tesla’s ambitions clearly run far beyond a slow burn.
Tesla envisions the futuristic-looking Cybercab as part of its broader Robotaxi network, which operates as a mixed fleet of vehicles with and without human safety monitors. The company has already been running a robotaxi service in Austin, and has expanded both its service area and fleet count there, while also launching a Bay Area ride-hailing service.
Tesla’s robotaxi launch comes well after the 2021 rollout of commercial robotaxi service by rival Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet. The race is far from over, but Tesla Cybercab production gives the EV giant a real seat at the autonomous table.
