Tesla Plans to Sell Cybercabs by Year-End as Unsupervised Full Self-Driving Slips to Q2 Next Year
Tesla announced plans to begin selling Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, while delaying unsupervised Full Self-Driving until next year's second quarter amid an ongoing federal safety investigation.
During Tesla's third-quarter earnings call, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy stated that the company intends to start selling its autonomous Cybercab to customers by the end of the year. While current production is destined for Tesla's own robotaxi fleet, Moravy noted that the company will "mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers" as the fleet grows, starting with small-scale deliveries and scaling up based on lessons learned in delivery, ownership, and fleet management.
Simultaneously, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the unsupervised version of Full Self-Driving (FSD), which does not require driver attention, will be rolled out to consumers in the second quarter of next year. This represents another delay for existing owners who have subscribed to or purchased the software years ago. If both timelines hold, third-party fleet customers could potentially operate the autonomous Cybercab before individual Tesla owners gain access to equivalent unsupervised capabilities in their own cars. Musk emphasized that the Cybercab is primarily designed as a "transport as a service" vehicle rather than a personal car, with the vast majority remaining Tesla-owned.
The strategic shift faces regulatory hurdles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation last month into whether the Cybercab meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which traditionally require manual controls like brake pedals. Although the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing these requirements for autonomous vehicles, the outcome of the NHTSA probe could determine whether Tesla can legally sell or operate the steering-wheel-less vehicle.