Tesla's latest Cybercab glimpse came at a private Thursday event in Austin with no public stream and no appearance from CEO Elon Musk. The robotaxi is a bronze-colored, two-passenger vehicle that omits a steering wheel and pedals and uses vertically hinged doors. Tesla first unveiled it almost two years ago and says production began in April.
Tesla said that, via the Tesla Robotaxi app, riders can now hail a driverless Cybercab confined to a geofenced zone surrounding Austin. It is an early, limited rollout for a business investors hope can scale in the U.S., where Alphabet's Waymo is the current front-runner.
Shares fell 6% Friday, giving back part of a 5.4% gain on Thursday that came in the run-up to the event. On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an audit query to assess whether Tesla properly self-certified the Cybercab for public-road use and met applicable federal safety standards.
RBC Capital Markets said Tesla provided little beyond earlier disclosures, leaving open important questions on pricing, production cadence, and regulatory approvals. The firm also noted the lack of a public livestream and continues to recommend buying the stock. Wells Fargo titled its note "TSLA Cybercab Launch Event Underwhelms" and said the Austin service is "facing early execution issues," as users share videos and complaints about routing mistakes, missed drop-offs, and long waits or ride times.
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With pricing, production pace, and regulatory timelines still unclear, the stock's swing reflects that uncertainty. If robotaxis are a key piece of Tesla's future, a small geofenced debut and early service hiccups are the near-term reality investors have to factor in.
