Tesla's Cybercab, with no steering wheel or brake pedal, could launch as early as this month

Tesla is in the final stages of preparing to launch its fully autonomous robotaxi, the Cybercab — a vehicle with no steering wheel or brake pedal — as early as this month.

The Information reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Tesla has told employees it plans to make the Cybercab available to the public within the month if possible.

The Cybercab is a two-seat vehicle with no steering wheel or brake pedal. It is designed so that passengers cannot intervene or take control of the vehicle even if the autonomous driving system encounters a problem.

For that reason, the official launch of the Cybercab marks a meaningful step forward not only in autonomous driving technology but also in the regulatory landscape. Tesla said it has remote operators who monitor vehicle conditions and can intervene in emergencies.

Tesla plans to begin the service in Austin, Texas.

Over the past several weeks, Tesla has been accelerating launch preparations — including test rides in the Cybercab, private road drives for employees, and training sessions for local emergency responders, people familiar with the matter said.

Tesla has been conducting public road tests of the Cybercab across the United States, including in Austin, since June. Starting in July, employees began test-riding the Cybercab on private roads around the Austin campus and collecting feedback.

The target for the official launch is the end of August, though the timeline could shift during final preparations.

At last month's earnings call, Elon Musk said that because the Cybercab was built on a new platform, Tesla needs to "accumulate driving data specific to the Cybercab before deploying the vehicle at scale on public roads."

Tesla currently uses the Model Y, equipped with its autonomous driving software, for its robotaxi service. Whether all Model Y-based robotaxis will eventually be replaced by the Cybercab remains unclear.