Tesla’s long-rumored Cybercab appears to be taking another major step toward launch. The company’s purpose-built autonomous vehicle was spotted testing on a highway in Austin, Texas, this week — marking what looks to be the first time the Cybercab has been seen validating its capabilities at highway speeds.
Footage shared by Adan Guajardo (@AdanGuajardo) shows a pre-production Cybercab cruising along MoPac (Loop 1), Austin’s major north-south expressway that connects Travis and Williamson counties. The slow-motion, nighttime video offers a clear look at the two-seat vehicle operating in real-world conditions outside of city streets, suggesting Tesla has now expanded its validation program beyond low-speed urban driving.
Until recently, Cybercab sightings had been relatively rare. The first known validation unit was spotted on public roads in California back in October, followed by the vehicle’s debut on Austin streets last month. Since then, testing activity has ramped up significantly, with at least seven Cybercabs now operating on public roads across Austin and the Bay Area. That uptick strongly suggests Tesla is entering the final stages of validation ahead of production.
Unlike existing Tesla models that can be adapted for ride-hailing, the Cybercab is designed from the ground up for autonomy. It’s a compact, all-electric, two-seat vehicle built specifically for Tesla’s Robotaxi network, with no steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors expected when it enters production. Instead, the Cybercab will rely entirely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system to transport passengers without a human driver onboard.
Highway testing is a particularly notable milestone, despite all pre-production validation vehicles being driven manually with steering wheels and pedals. Navigating higher speeds, lane changes, and more complex traffic dynamics introduces a different set of challenges to vet the Cybercab against compared to city driving. Elon Musk has previously confirmed that Tesla is already testing the Cybercab production line, with volume production still slated to begin in April.
With sightings becoming more frequent and testing expanding into more demanding environments, Tesla’s autonomous ambitions appear to be accelerating quickly as we kick off 2026.
