Tesla appears to be preparing for the public debut of its purpose-built Cybercab, with the company reportedly planning a launch event in Austin, Texas, later this month. The two-seat electric robotaxi is designed without a steering wheel or pedals and is intended to operate without a human driver. But while Tesla is moving closer to putting the vehicle into public use, questions around safety, regulation and the amount of real-world autonomous driving experience it has accumulated remain.

According to The Information, Tesla has been preparing for the Cybercab launch, with employees testing fully driverless versions on private roads around the company’s campus since July. Vehicles fitted with conventional controls have also been seen as Tesla continues collecting data. Austin authorities appear to be preparing as well. City spokesperson Brad Cesak said Tesla recently conducted training with local first responders so they know how to deal with the vehicles during emergencies. Tesla’s Robotaxi account on X has also been promoting the upcoming Cybercab launch and offering followers a chance to win tickets by taking rides in the company’s Model Y robotaxis. The timing suggests the company wants to move the Cybercab into a more visible testing phase, though the exact scale of the initial deployment remains unclear.

The bigger question is whether Tesla’s autonomous system is ready for a vehicle that does not have a human driver available as a backup. The Cybercab is linked to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology, but the currently available FSD system requires an attentive driver. US regulators and safety experts have questioned some of Tesla’s claims about autonomous driving, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the company’s system over alleged safety and compliance concerns. Tesla says remote operators can step in when required, although there are still questions about how quickly such intervention could happen if a vehicle encounters an unexpected situation or loses reliable communication. The company has started adding Starlink connectivity to Cybercabs, apparently to strengthen that communication link.

Tesla also has considerably less public-road experience with fully driverless vehicles than its main robotaxi rival Waymo. Tesla said its unsupervised robotaxis had travelled about 380,000 miles across six cities in two states. Waymo, meanwhile, has accumulated more than 220 million fully driverless miles on public roads since launching its commercial robotaxi service in 2020. Tesla’s autonomous fleet remains relatively small as well. Data cited from Robotaxi Tracker showed 16 unsupervised vehicles in Austin, four in Dallas and one in Houston, although the numbers and vehicle mix can change. Elon Musk acknowledged during a July earnings call that Tesla still needs vehicle-specific driving data before the Cybercab can be deployed on a much larger scale.

Regulatory approval could become another major hurdle. Federal vehicle rules generally assume conventional controls and equipment, while the Cybercab is designed without a steering wheel or pedals. Tesla would therefore need regulatory relief to sell the vehicle in large numbers if those requirements apply. It is not clear whether the company has sought such an exemption. For now, an Austin launch would be an important test rather than proof that Tesla has solved driverless transportation. The coming weeks should show how much of the Cybercab’s operation will be truly autonomous, how regulators respond and whether Tesla can convince the public that the technology is ready to move beyond limited testing.