American company Tesla has opened public access to driverless rides. The driverless two-seat vehicles have taken to the streets of the American city. The Cybercab model was presented on September 3 in Austin. The two-seat cars have no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicles became available through the Robotaxi service in select districts. Company executives shared plans on pricing and production. Head of AI division Ashok Elluswami opened the service to everyone. The Cybercab is assigned automatically depending on the availability of free vehicles. Choosing it over the Model Y is currently not possible. Tesla plans to use dynamic pricing for future rides.
Texas state authorities registered four hundred and twenty autonomous vehicles from the company. Of that number, forty-five are the Cybercab model. Competitor Waymo had nine hundred and eighty-eight vehicles in the state. Tesla began production of the Cybercab model in April of this year. The model was first presented to the public in October two years ago. The driverless robotaxi features two gull-wing doors. The vehicle is equipped with wireless charging and has no manual controls. Elon Musk called the Cybercab Tesla's highest-volume model. The founder previously promised a vehicle price below thirty thousand dollars.
The company has opened a purchase form for the Cybercab for third-party operators. Entrepreneurs will be able to acquire individual vehicles or entire fleets for business use. Partnership options listed include the creation of infrastructure and mobile hubs. Previously, Tesla primarily developed its own fleet of driverless robotaxis. TechCrunch saw an opportunity for rapid scaling of the entire robotaxi network. Specific terms for purchasing and managing fleets have not yet been disclosed. The Robotaxi service with the Model Y operates in six cities. Rides are available in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. The service's geographic coverage continues to gradually expand across the country.
On September 4, the NHTSA regulator launched an investigation into one thousand Cybercab vehicles. The agency will examine the basis for the model's compliance with the country's federal safety standards. The vehicle has no permanently installed steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors. Federal rules restrict the commercial sale of vehicles without control instruments. Manufacturers may use such vehicles for testing without a limit. In California, Tesla has not yet received permission to operate robotaxis. The service launch has drawn close attention from American road safety regulators. The first Robotaxi rides in Austin launched in June of last year. Initially, a company employee was present in the cabin to monitor the situation. In December, the company began testing the robotaxi without a supervisor in the cabin.