Tesla starts taking Cybercab orders for personal use

The $29,990 vehicle will require a $299-a-month 'Autonomy Subscription.'

By Mariella Moon
A screenshot of Tesla's Cybercab preorder page. Tesla
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Tesla has announced through its Robotaxi X account that it has started sending out invitations to select customers, giving them the chance to purchase a Cybercab. The automaker previously said that it was going to sell to entities who can help "build its robotaxi network," indicating that it'll initially sell them to companies that can purchase whole fleets. But in its latest announcement, it said it was sending out invites for those who want to buy a Cybercab for personal use. 

Based on the screenshots it posted, it's selling the Cybercab for $29,990, but customers will have to pay $299 a month for an "Autonomy Subscription." Take note that the Cybercab doesn't have a steering wheel, gas pedals and brakes and was designed to be fully autonomous, so it will not work without the subscription service. 

Plus, these Cybercabs being sold for personal use will still only work within Tesla's geofenced locations for robotaxis. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's AI lead, said "it'll work unsupervised inside all the same geo locations as Robotaxi, just serving the owners' needs." At the moment, the company provides robotaxi services in limited areas of Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida, as well as in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Texas. 

The company's estimated delivery date for the Cybercab is December 2026, but whether orders for personal use can actually make its way to buyers remains to be seen. Shortly after the Cybercab entered commercial service as robotaxis, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe into the process Tesla used to self-certify the vehicles. "The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel and mirrors," the agency said at the time. "NHTSA is opening this [audit query] to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues."

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