Tesla plans to sell its driverless Cybercab to customers by year end

Tesla says it will start selling its driverless Cybercab to customers by the end of the year. The gold two-seater has no steering wheel and no traditional driving controls. At the same time, federal safety regulators are investigating whether the vehicle meets national safety standards.

What Tesla said

Tesla shared the plan Wednesday on its third-quarter earnings call. Lars Moravy, the company's vice president of engineering, said the Cybercabs built today all go to Tesla's own robotaxi fleet. As that fleet grows, Tesla will "mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers." He said the rollout will start small.

Tesla first floated selling to outside buyers last month around its Cybercab event in Austin. It even posted a form for people interested in buying robotaxis. Until now, it was not clear whether Tesla would follow through.

Not a car to own

CEO Elon Musk said the Cybercab is meant for ride-hailing, not personal ownership. Cars like the Model 3 and Model Y are the ones people would want to own. He said the vast majority of Cybercabs will be Tesla-owned and offered as a transport service.

That marks a shift. For years, Musk talked about turning privately owned Teslas into self-driving taxis with a software update. That has not happened yet. If both timelines hold, outside fleet buyers could run Cybercabs before Tesla owners get self-driving in their own cars.

The safety investigation

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal auto safety regulator, opened its investigation last month. That was just hours after the vehicles began operating on public streets in Austin.

Federal safety rules require manual controls such as brake pedals, plus features like mirrors. Automakers usually certify for themselves that a vehicle meets those rules, and Tesla did the same. Current rules do not make room for cars without manual controls. The Department of Transportation recently proposed dropping those requirements for vehicles designed to drive themselves. NHTSA says it will examine how Tesla certified the Cybercab.

What happens next

The investigation's outcome could affect whether Tesla, or anyone else, can legally operate the Cybercab. The material does not say what a Cybercab will cost, how many will be sold, or exactly when deliveries begin. Fleet and ride-hail businesses weighing a purchase should watch the regulatory outcome closely.