Tesla officially launched its Cybercab robotaxi at a closed-door, invite-only event in Austin, Texas, marking a significant milestone for Elon Musk's long-touted vision of autonomous vehicles. The launch was notably subdued for such a high-profile product, with no livestream and an invite list largely restricted to pro-Tesla influencers who were required to sign NDAs, prompting some grumbling from uninvited supporters online. The event underscores the risky new phase Tesla is entering as it pits its stripped-down, sensor-light approach to autonomy against more established rivals such as Waymo.

Tesla has 45 Cybercabs registered with Texas authorities, bringing its total unsupervised autonomous fleet to 256 vehicles across six cities, compared with Waymo's roughly 4,000 vehicles across 14 cities. The two-seat Cybercab, first unveiled in 2024, has gullwing doors, eight cameras, no steering wheel or pedals, and lacks radar or lidar; it is also Tesla's lightest and most range-efficient vehicle, weighing around 700 pounds less than the lightest Model 3. Key questions remain unanswered, including pricing and a sale date, despite Musk previously suggesting a price as low as $30,000, and the company has fallen well short of his earlier claim that half of the US population would have robotaxi access by the end of 2025.