Tesla Targets Year-End Cybercab Sales as Safety Review Continues

Tesla plans to start selling its driverless Cybercab to customers by year-end, widening access beyond its own robotaxi fleet as a federal investigation examines the vehicle’s safety certification.

Current Cybercab production is reserved for Tesla’s robotaxi fleet. On Wednesday’s third-quarter earnings call, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of engineering, described a limited initial rollout. Moravy said Tesla would “mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers.” Tesla plans to expand deliveries as it gains experience with delivery, ownership and fleet management.

The two-seat vehicle is designed to operate without a human driver and has no steering wheel or conventional driver controls. Public-road operations in Austin began last month. NHTSA opened an investigation within hours, examining how Tesla determined the Cybercab met federal safety standards and the technical basis for that decision.

Automakers generally certify whether their own vehicles comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Those standards require manual controls such as brake pedals, as well as features including rearview and side mirrors. Current rules do not accommodate vehicles without manual controls, while the Department of Transportation has proposed removing those requirements for vehicles designed to operate autonomously.

The investigation’s outcome could affect whether Tesla or other operators may legally operate the Cybercab.