Tesla Cybercab, a steering-wheel-free autonomous vehicle, begins public road testing in Austin

On June 30, Tesla began public road engineering tests of the production version of its Cybercab in Austin, Texas. The vehicle completely eliminates the steering wheel, accelerator, and brake pedals, featuring no manual controls for human takeover. Its design has been confirmed compliant and valid by the state’s Department of Transportation. A safety monitor is present inside the cabin to oversee system operations but lacks any manual intervention capability; all driving functions are executed independently by the onboard autonomous driving system. The Cybercab is Tesla’s first Level 4 autonomous vehicle designed specifically for Robotaxi operations and passenger transportation. It features a two-seat cabin with butterfly doors and omits traditional side mirrors, relying entirely on onboard perception hardware for environmental sensing. The vehicle is equipped with a compact 48 kWh battery pack, uses front-wheel drive, weighs 1,412 kg (curb weight), and delivers an EPA-estimated range of 672 kilometers. It supports wireless inductive charging at 19–25 kW, enabling seamless integration into autonomous fleet operations with automated recharging. In terms of autonomous hardware, the Cybercab is outfitted with Tesla’s full HW4.0 sensor suite and runs version 14.3.3 of Tesla’s end-to-end, vision-only Full Self-Driving (FSD) algorithm. It achieves 360-degree environmental awareness through multiple high-definition cameras and 4D millimeter-wave radar. According to official safety documentation, the vehicle meets SAE Level 4 autonomy standards, capable of performing all driving tasks independently within its designated operational domain without human intervention.