Tesla Cybercab Public Rides Start Friday at 5 PM CT in Austin

Tesla Robotaxi said Cybercab rides open to the public Friday at 5:00 p.m. Central Time, moving the two-seat, steering-wheel-free vehicle beyond Thursday’s invite-only Austin launch.

The official account posted the one-line update after Tesla’s September 3 Cybercab event in Austin, where selected guests and Robotaxi riders already took Cybercab trips inside the city’s geofence. Until now, paid Robotaxi service has run mainly on unsupervised Model Y vehicles in Texas and Florida, with Cybercab rides limited to the launch crowd.

Public booking still goes through the Robotaxi app. Riders can choose a Cybercab or a Model Y when both are available, after the app’s Austin update listed Cybercab as Tesla’s first purpose-built autonomous vehicle. Texas records showed 45 Cybercabs on Tesla Robotaxi’s authorized roster ahead of the launch, beside hundreds of Model Y robotaxis, so drawing a Cybercab is still not guaranteed on every request.

Tesla’s Cybercab Rider Guide, published the same week, spells out what those public trips will look like: phone-detected automatic doors, Start Ride on the cabin touchscreen, a physical Stop button between the dome lights that ends the ride and connects to Robotaxi Support, and a mechanical door release for imminent danger. Minors under 13 are not allowed in Cybercab for now.

The Friday 5 p.m. CT window is the first public fare opening Tesla has put on the calendar for Cybercab itself. The company has not said how many of the 45 registered cars will be in the Austin dispatch pool when the clock hits, or when other Robotaxi cities get the same choice.