TL;DR
A car with no steering wheel and no brake pedal could soon pick up riders in a second American city. Tesla says its Cybercab, a robotaxi built with no wheel or pedals, expands from Austin to Dallas in November, reaches other cities by the end of 2026 and goes on sale to fleet operators by year-end, all company claims. The catch is the rulebook. Federal safety standards were written for cars with drivers, and they still require a brake pedal and side mirrors that the Cybercab does not have. If the rules bend, rides in cars that cannot be driven by a person at all could stop being an Austin curiosity and become something other companies can buy and run, and the cheapest version of a robotaxi ride could follow. If the rules hold, the Cybercab may stay inside Tesla's own fleet for a while.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: The full story: where it stands, how we got here and what's dated next; our Odds board on 5 milestones, starting with "Cybercabs carry riders in Dallas by 2026"; and every source.