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Elon Musk Says Tesla Cybercab Fleet in Austin Grows 10-Fold Since Launch
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Cybercab fleet in Austin grew roughly tenfold in a month. Tesla aims to roll out public Cybercab robotaxis by year-end.
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Austin growth, Musk says
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tesla’s Cybercab fleet in Austin has grown by a factor of 10 since launch about a month ago, during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
Musk said, "The cumulative mileage is really—when I look at the weekly chart—it’s wow. I mean, it looks like a rocket going to orbit, basically," as Tesla highlighted rapid scaling in autonomous miles.
Tesla’s third-quarter shareholder update reported an eightfold quarterly increase in cumulative unsupervised Robotaxi miles, driven by double-digit weekly growth.
Tesla said more than 300 Cybercabs were operating in Austin, representing an eightfold fleet expansion over 30 days, as the company pushed its autonomous rollout beyond its home market.
Regulators probe compliance
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Cybercabs to assess how Tesla determined the cars comply with federal vehicle-safety regulations, even as the vehicles come without manual controls. Lars Moravy told analysts after reporting third-quarter results that Tesla is trying to get Cybercabs to customers "by the end of this year, 2026," as the company targets a public sales start.
Ashok Elluswamy said on the call that Tesla is trying to ensure it has "all the regulatory approvals where we can start deploying the Cybercabs as fast as we can produce them," linking rollout speed to approvals. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has until October 30 to respond to the agency, as it evaluates the basis of Tesla’s certification of the Cybercab and the extent to which certain standards were not applicable.
Dallas expansion and stakes
Tesla said it plans to expand the Cybercab service to Dallas next month, with the company also preparing to start selling Cybercabs to fleet operators by the end of this year. TechCrunch reported that Tesla’s Cybercab expansion will begin in Dallas next month and spread to other cities by the end of this year, as the company aims to scale beyond Austin.
Elon Musk said the new ride-hailing business won’t be noticeable in the company’s overall financial figures until the second quarter of 2027, "and probably a big deal by Q3 or Q4 of next year," tying near-term results to later commercialization. TechCrunch said the NHTSA opened an investigation in September hours after Tesla formally launched its Cybercab in Austin, and the Cybercab is missing features that current standards require, like a brake pedal and side mirrors.