Overview
- Tesla has begun building its purpose-built Cybercab, and dozens of units have been seen at Gigafactory Texas as the company shifts from pilot builds toward early volume.
- The two-seat vehicle is designed for autonomous use with no steering wheel, pedals, side mirrors, or rearview display, relying on cameras and an onboard AI computer.
- Tesla’s new “Unboxed” build method assembles major modules in parallel and drops the traditional paint shop by using molded, pigmented panels, which the company says cuts factory footprint by 40% and labor by 30%.
- The company set aggressive goals that include a full-scale cadence of one car every 10 seconds, capacity of up to 2 million a year, and a target price under $30,000 with Elon Musk noting about $25,000.
- Large-scale service remains constrained because the SELF DRIVE Act has not passed and most jurisdictions still require driver controls, while Tesla runs a small supervised Model Y robotaxi in Austin and faces rivals like Waymo with about 2,500 approved vehicles.