Tesla’s CyberCab on display in downtown Austin, Texas, on September 3, 2026.
Ronaldo Shemit | AFP | Getty Images
within a month since then Tesla’s With the CyberCab deployment in Austin, the company has nearly quadrupled the number of unmanned bronze two-person vehicles licensed for commercial service in Texas. Growth needs to accelerate if Elon Musk is to achieve his ambitions
The unusual driverless vehicle, which lacks a steering wheel, pedals, rear and side mirrors, and outside door handles, has received mixed reviews from paying passengers who have shared videos and posts online since its launch on September 3. Criticisms include long wait times, pickups and drop-offs at the wrong locations, and technical issues with the vehicles’ butterfly doors and trunks not closing properly.
Improvements in driverless technology and the rapid growth of its robotaxi service are key to Tesla’s efforts to reignite investor enthusiasm. Auto sales have been depressed for a long time, and the company’s stock has fallen 18% on Wall Street this year, making it the only big tech loser without a positive return for investors.
Tesla on Friday reported better-than-expected third-quarter deliveries, sending its stock up nearly 5%, but the company’s deliveries were still down 2% from a year earlier. Tesla’s core auto business has suffered consecutive annual sales declines as it faces pressure from Chinese EV makers such as BYD and Xiaomi and sells more affordable and innovative models while expanding exports to key Tesla markets, particularly in Europe and across Asia.
meanwhile, of the alphabet Waymo continues to open in new cities. The company’s website says it’s currently available in 15 U.S. markets, with 15 more planned. The company also announced plans to expand overseas in London, Tokyo, and Munich.
As of Friday, Waymo had 1,154 self-driving cars approved for commercial use in Texas, including 359 new Ojai models with lower steps and sliding doors. Waymo conducts more than 500,000 paid rides each week and has completed 270 million miles of fully autonomous commercial operations in the country. There are currently more than 4,000 driverless vehicles in commercial operation in the United States.
At the time of the Austin announcement, Tesla had 45 CyberCabs approved for commercial use in Texas, but as of Friday, that number had grown to 169, according to Texas Department of Transportation public records.
Austin, home of Tesla, is the only city currently operating CyberCabs as part of its driverless ride-hailing service. The company’s robotaxi fleet in Texas also includes 420 Model Y vehicles equipped with Tesla’s self-driving system, which are not yet available to private car buyers.
Austin has emerged as a popular early market for robotaxis due to a combination of relatively lax state regulations and the capital’s vibrant tech community. Amazon’s Zoox is also testing in Austin.
Hurdles to expansion
Growing beyond Austin is the next challenge for Tesla’s CyberCab.
In addition to technical issues, the company faces several potential regulatory hurdles to expansion. After the CyberCab went on sale, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a so-called audit investigation to ensure the vehicle complied with federal safety standards.
NHTSA initially ordered Tesla to respond to a lengthy list of safety questions by Sept. 30, but the company received an extension, an agency spokesperson told CNBC in an email.
Ethan McCanna, an Austin resident and former Tesla intern, told CNBC he has ridden in every type of self-driving car available to regular riders in the city.
McCanna, 20, now a sophomore studying computer science at Texas A&M University, also created a site called RobotaxiTracker.com. The site uses machine learning to analyze data streaming from traffic cameras and other public records to show how self-driving services are working in U.S. cities.
McCanna said he has ridden the CyberCab about 30 times and has been flying Waymo since it debuted in Austin in 2024. Mr McCanna said he liked having “a big screen, media controls and your own space with access to apps” in the CyberCab, and found the drive quality to be “very smooth”.
He said the “pick-up and drop-off experience” is still unrefined and that outward-extending butterfly doors are “less convenient” than traditional or sliding doors. It also requires patience, he said.
“The demand was so high that wait times were often over 45 minutes,” he said of when the CyberCabs were first rolled out. The situation has improved in recent weeks with further “smoothing of demand,” he said.
“Waymo has been in the commercial business for longer, so it’s more mature, with 24/7 service and support,” McCanna said, adding that Waymo had some “hard brake” issues in its early days in Austin.
No serious safety incidents or crashes involving the CyberCab have been reported in Austin since its commercial debut. But first responders have expressed concerns about the CyberCab’s lack of manual driving controls and its unique door design.
Austin Fire Chief Matt McClarney said in an interview with CNBC that while Tesla has provided detailed emergency guidelines and comprehensive instructions to first responders on how to deal with CyberCab and Model Y robotaxi vehicles in various incidents, that alone is not enough.
McCliarney said he would like to see national or state regulations for self-driving cars, requiring robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals, and providing another way for “public safety representatives to control the movement, steering, and stopping of self-driving vehicles in either emergency or non-emergency situations.”
McElearney added that AVs must “pass tests throughout the life of the product” through a type of “dynamic certification” process, as software bugs and updates can change performance.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The public also has widespread concerns about safety.
According to a study conducted by Slingshot Strategies in its September 2026 Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report, 50% of U.S. respondents said they would not feel comfortable with the idea of riding in a robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals. When asked about NHTSA’s investigation into Tesla’s CyberCab, the survey found that 70% want the company to suspend rides.
Musk will need to change that sentiment if he is to successfully transition Tesla into the self-driving era. His next step in becoming a major player in the market is to expand across Texas in San Antonio, Dallas and other cities, as well as into Nevada and Florida, where AV companies can take advantage of warm weather and favorable state regulations.
Musk said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that his company’s robotaxis would be “very, very popular” in the United States by the end of 2026, but that hasn’t happened yet. And in California, where Waymo has become a common sight in some cities, Tesla has not yet received permission to run its vehicles on public roads without a human behind the wheel.
Following Tesla’s delivery report on Friday, Kantar analysts emphasized the magnitude of the opportunity.
“Management has previously stated that, as production ramps up, it expects the CyberCab to eventually become the largest production vehicle in the lineup,” they wrote.
WATCH: Tesla stock soars ahead of CyberCab event
