Tesla finally launches its Cybercab and its first passengers are giving their verdict

Tesla has finally launched the Cybercab, which is now available in Austin, Texas.

You can now use it the same way you’d use a Robotaxi or Waymo.

This is a major step towards what Tesla has always promised.

But there’s something worth noting.

Most people are loving the new Tesla Cybercab

Tesla launched the new Cybercab at a private event reserved mostly for tech creators with a heavy focus on Tesla.

Several videos were posted across different social media accounts, including X, of course, and the result was mixed but mostly positive.

In general, most people agree that it is indeed the first truly autonomous car ever.

By contrast, the Jaguars used by Waymo or even the Model Ys used by Tesla are regular passenger cars converted to self-driving vehicles.

Whereas the Cybercab (like Zoox) was created as a steering wheel-less, pedal-less vehicle from the start.

“Amazing! Tesla actually did it. True level 4 autonomy with no steering wheel, no pedals, no mirrors, and NO NAGGING!” one user wrote in the comment section of the YouTube video shared by Brighter with Herbert.

“Roads will soon turn into rivers of gold,” another said with a reference to the Cybercab’s color.

Sawyer Merritt, a creator whose content is essentially only Tesla – and SpaceX- related, also got the chance to try it and agreed that this is basically like reinventing the wheel.

“I still think people are going to find it does feel like a lounge. And this doesn’t feel like a screen. This feels like a TV that’s just been mounted onto the dash,” he said.

And many of his viewers agree.

“This is what I dreamed about as a kid in the 90s. Now it is real!” one of his followers wrote.

Not everyone’s impressed

To be clear, for the most part, the comments were positive.

But a few people raised technical and, shall we say, semantic points.

“I can see someone getting drunk, calling a cab to get home, and passing out on the way. Then what? Does it sit at your house with the door open waiting for you to wake up?” an X user said.

That’s a very good question.

Another focused on technical aspects.

“Cybercab just drove an extra mile for no reason. Very poor AI. Watch the end, it goes past hotel and turns down a dead end, goes down and back just to go back on the road they came from,” another user said.

To be fair, this technology is still probably far from ripe.

Maybe 100 years from now this type of vehicle will be the norm.

For now, it’s a geofenced novelty, which brings us to something else that just happened.

In the meantime, Marques Brownlee has doubled down on his bet

Historically, Tesla has a clear track record: they generally deliver on what they promise, but almost always later than promised.

It’s the same with the Cybercab.

When it was first launched, Musk said it’d become a ‘regular’ production vehicle by 2026.

Which hasn’t happened.

Back then, tech and car YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) made a significant bet.

He said that Tesla would never make this happen in time, and if they did, he’d shave his head.

Nearly two years later, Cybercab has indeed been unveiled, but only as an alternative option to Robotaxis – i.e., modified Tesla Model Ys – in the geofenced area of Austin, Texas where Tesla operates its fleet.

And Marques has doubled down on his bet.

If Tesla delivers Cybercab as a production vehicle – not just an option in Austin, Texas – by the end of the year, he’ll shave his head.

And then he made a new bet.

“If they don’t, tag me if you take me up on it – and you shave your head,” he said in his latest video.

We’ll see.

Presumably somebody will have to shave their head at some point.