TL;DR by CuriousCats.ai
Tesla tests Cybercab in Austin
- Tesla has begun testing a production version of its Cybercab that has two seats, but no steering wheel or pedals, in Austin, Texas.
- For now, the testing is being done with a safety monitor in the right passenger seat, according to a video on X, the social media platform owned by the electric car maker’s CEO Elon Musk.
- This test is happening nearly two years after Tesla announced the Cybercab, which is meant to be a fully autonomous robotaxi that can be hailed through Tesla’s app.
Context on Tesla's Cybercab testing
- Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed a proposal that would not mandate brake pedals in “vehicles designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems.”
- Musk and other Tesla executives have argued that they will be able to out-compete the current robotaxi leader, Waymo, for a number of reasons.
- Foremost among those reasons is that Tesla is building the cars and the driving software, which is expected to give it far greater control over costs compared to Waymo, which relies on partnerships with brands like Jaguar and Zeekr for vehicles.
- Tesla is also trying to make the Cybercab fully autonomous using only cameras, whereas Waymo uses a much more complex suite of sensors, including lidar and radar.
- Tesla has had its own growing pains with the Austin robotaxi network, but some of those have flown under the radar simply because it is using very lightly modified versions of its consumer Model Y SUVs.
CuriousCats Full Story
Key Insight
“Tesla has started testing its Cybercab, a fully autonomous robotaxi designed without pedals or a steering wheel. This development comes nearly two years after the initial announcement of the Cybercab project.”
CuriousCats studied:
1
TechCrunch
TechCrunch“Tesla has begun testing a production version of its Cybercab that has two seats, but no steering wheel or pedals, in Austin, Texas.”
TechCrunch →
