Tesla's Cybercab robotaxi has completed its first month in Austin, and the report card is rough: a federal audit on day one, a fleet that surged and then shrank, and passengers posting videos of a 70-minute "scenic route." Now Elon Musk faces the harder part — actually scaling the service.
Federal audit on launch day
On September 3, Tesla began commercial Cybercab service in Austin: a two-seater with no steering wheel, no pedals and no traditional mirrors, which Musk called "the first car specifically built for unsupervised full self-driving." That same day, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened Audit Query AQ26002 covering about 1,000 vehicles, questioning how Tesla self-certified a car built without manual controls under federal crash standards written for conventional cars. Tesla has not filed for a Part 555 exemption — the alternative federal pathway Amazon's Zoox pursued after a review that lasted four years. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the agency backs autonomous development but needs to verify "that all of our laws are followed."
From 100 vehicles down to 8
At launch, Texas records showed only 45 Cybercabs registered for commercial use in the state, all in a limited area of Austin, out of 420 Tesla automated vehicles — while Alphabet's Waymo had 988 registered. Third-party Robotaxi Tracker data showed more than 100 Tesla robotaxis carrying passengers in early September, but by September 22 only eight had been detected carrying passengers over the previous seven days. Wells Fargo, in a note titled "TSLA Cybercab Launch Event Underwhelms," flagged "early execution issues," and riders posted videos and complaints. Electrek documented a signature moment: a 10-minute trip turned into a 70-minute detour — because the whole fleet avoids freeways, sticking to lower-speed surface streets and routing around train tracks and interchanges.
Fire chief: responders must be able to take control
Austin Fire Chief Matt McElearney told CNBC that although Tesla provided detailed emergency response guidelines and training, it is not enough. He wants state or federal rules requiring robotaxis without steering wheels to give public safety officials an alternative way to "take control — move, steer, or shut down" the vehicle, plus continuous "dynamic certification" across a vehicle's lifecycle. A September survey found 50% of U.S. respondents uncomfortable riding in a robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals, and 70% wanted the service suspended after learning of the NHTSA probe.
Where next: more cities in line
Musk said at Davos in January that Tesla's robotaxis would be "very, very widespread" across the U.S. by the end of 2026 — that clearly hasn't happened. In California, Waymo's vehicles are already common across multiple cities, while Tesla has yet to receive permission to operate driverless vehicles on public roads there. Tesla's expansion targets include San Antonio and Dallas in Texas, plus Nevada and Florida, where favorable weather and supportive state regulations help. The fleet is growing: the 67th Cybercab has joined the Austin fleet, and more than 150 were spotted in the outbound lot at Gigafactory Texas. Analysts say that once production ramps up, the Cybercab could eventually become Tesla's best-selling vehicle. But first it has to prove it is more than an expensive demo.