Tesla Cybercab SOP

Tesla said on April 22 that it has started production of the Cybercab at Giga Texas, moving its purpose-built robotaxi from prototype to factory build. (tesla.com) The company disclosed the start in its first-quarter 2026 update, saying it had “further prepared lines for start of production” of Cybercab alongside Megapack 3 and the Tesla Semi. Tesla’s webcast for the quarter was scheduled for April 22 at 4:30 p.m. Central Time. (tesla.com 1) (tesla.com 2) Cybercab is the vehicle Tesla has designed for rides without a human driver. On Tesla’s Robotaxi page, the company says autonomous rides are already being offered with Model Y in Austin, Dallas and Houston, and that Cybercab will offer rides later. (tesla.com) Tesla first showed the vehicle publicly at its “We, Robot” event in October 2024. The company said then that Cybercab would be a “purpose-built fully autonomous vehicle,” and museum documentation from one of the event cars describes it as a two-seat hatchback with no steering wheel or pedals. (tesla.com) (petersen.org) The timing matters because Tesla has spent the last two quarterly updates moving the project from factory installation to launch. In its fourth-quarter 2025 update on Jan. 28, Tesla said it had begun installing Cybercab production lines and expected production ramps in the first half of 2026. (tesla.com 1) (tesla.com 2) The larger bet is on scale. Barron’s, citing Elon Musk’s comments around the April 2026 earnings discussion, reported that Musk sees Cybercab making up most of Tesla’s vehicle sales in the future, which would make it a much bigger program than today’s robotaxi tests with Model Y. (barrons.com) (tesla.com) A car without pedals or a steering wheel also runs into U.S. safety rules written for human drivers. In June 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would streamline the Part 555 exemption process for vehicles that do not fully comply with standards covering items such as steering wheels and driver-operated brakes, while keeping the statutory limit at 2,500 exempt vehicles a year. (nhtsa.gov 1) (nhtsa.gov 2) Tesla has not, in the materials it posted this week, detailed production volume, a public launch date for Cybercab rides, or the regulatory path it will use for broad deployment. What it has said is narrower: the line is running in Texas, and the vehicle is central to the next phase of its Robotaxi business. (tesla.com) (tesla.com)