Tesla’s long-teased Cybercab has officially been spotted testing on public roads in Austin, Texas, marking a major milestone for the company’s autonomous ambitions. The sighting was first shared on X by @JT59052914, who said, “My friend just spotted this Cybercab testing in downtown Austin,” alongside photos of the futuristic two-seat vehicle driving through city streets.
The Cybercab sighting in Austin is notable because it’s the first time the vehicle has been seen testing on public roads outside of California. Tesla’s Cybercab was previously spotted on public streets for the first time ever in California back in October, but this marks its debut in Texas — a key location for Tesla, given Austin is home to Gigafactory Texas and now a hub for its Robotaxi efforts.
Tesla’s Cybercab is a purpose-built, all-electric autonomous vehicle designed specifically for the company’s Robotaxi. Unlike existing Tesla models that can be adapted for ride-hailing, the Cybercab is optimized from the ground up for autonomy, efficiency, and high utilization. It’s a compact, two-seat vehicle meant to shuttle passengers around cities with no human driver at all.
The timing of this sighting is especially interesting. Just days ago, Tesla began testing “unsupervised” Full Self-Driving on Robotaxis in Austin, with no drivers, safety monitors, or passengers inside the vehicles. While it’s not confirmed whether the Cybercab spotted here was operating in an unsupervised mode, the presence of the vehicle on public roads suggests Tesla is rapidly expanding real-world testing of its autonomous fleet.
Image: @JT59052914
Visually, the Cybercab seen in Austin closely resembles earlier prototypes, including the presence of side mirrors. Tesla has previously indicated that the final production version will not include a steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors, instead relying entirely on FSD and cameras. This suggests the vehicle is still in a pre-production testing phase, gathering data and validating systems ahead of wider deployment.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk last month confirmed that the Cybercab is expected to enter production in April 2026. Once live, the Cybercab will play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi service, which aims to deliver autonomous ride-hailing at scale by leveraging Tesla’s massive fleet and vertically integrated software stack. Tesla has also said that owners will eventually be able to add their own vehicles to the Robotaxi network, helping the service scale quickly.
For now, this Austin sighting signals that Tesla’s autonomous future is inching closer to reality — and it’s happening right on public roads.
