Tesla’s Cybercab shows up at Giga Texas

More than 50 Tesla Cybercabs have been spotted outside Gigafactory Texas, the clearest sign yet that the robotaxi program has moved beyond a handful of prototypes. (teslarati.com) Drone footage published April 13 showed rows of Cybercabs on the outbound lot at the Austin factory, and separate vehicles appeared to be going through crash tests nearby. Teslarati reported Tesla is aiming for volume production in April 2026 after saying the first production Cybercab rolled off the line on February 17. (teslarati.com, electrek.co) The Cybercab is Tesla’s purpose-built robotaxi, a two-seat electric car designed to run without a steering wheel or pedals. Elon Musk told investors at Tesla’s November 6, 2025 annual meeting that production would start at Gigafactory Texas in April 2026. (insideevs.com, electrek.co) Tesla is also tying the vehicle to a commercial robotaxi launch in Austin later in 2026. Teslarati said the company is targeting late 2026 for that service, while Electrek reported Tesla has already expanded a small unsupervised robotaxi area in Austin using only a handful of vehicles. (teslarati.com, electrek.co) Texas has tightened the rules since last year. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles now requires authorization before companies can commercially operate automated vehicles on public roads under Senate Bill 2807, which took effect after the 2025 legislative session. (txdmv.gov, services.austintexas.gov) Tesla has paired the manufacturing push with new software meant to make its existing cars look more like part of the same autonomy strategy. The Spring Update 2026 adds a Self-Driving subscription app, “Hey Grok” voice activation, auto-installing software updates and a revised Pet Mode display. (electrek.co) The vehicle itself still raises engineering and timeline questions. National Today reported Tesla is sticking with a price target around $30,000, and a separate report said the company surprised some observers by using a front-wheel-drive layout for the Cybercab. (nationaltoday.com, nationaltoday.com) Skeptics have focused on the gap between building a car with no manual controls and proving the software can handle real streets at scale. Electrek noted in February that Tesla had produced a steering-wheel-less Cybercab before solving autonomy, and Forbes wrote this month that Tesla’s robotaxi operation remains hard to independently assess. (electrek.co, forbes.com) For now, the Austin factory footage answers one narrower question: Tesla is building Cybercabs in visible numbers at the same site where it says volume production should begin this month. The harder test comes next, when those vehicles have to clear state rules and operate on Austin streets without a driver, pedals or a steering wheel. (teslarati.com, txdmv.gov)