# US opens safety probe as Tesla Cybercab begins public rides

_Published Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 12:06 PM EDT · Robotics, Policy · Latest · Tier 1 — Major_

![A Tesla Cybercab prototype at a Tesla store in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the robotaxi, which has no steering wheel or pedals, could cost less than $30,000 and "probably" will go into production in 2026. Photographer: — Primary](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GettyImages-2183782392-1152x648.jpg)

Tesla began offering public rides in its driverless Cybercab in Austin hours before the US federal government opened an investigation into whether the vehicle meets federal safety standards, Ars Technica reported.

The two-seat vehicle has no steering wheel or brake pedals and is intended for Tesla's Robotaxi ride-hail network, which operates in several Texas and Florida cities. Tesla says the vehicles comply with existing standards and that it does not need an exemption, while federal rules governing manual controls remain in place.

## Sources

- [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/09/teslas-cybercab-has-been-deployed-and-its-already-under-investigation/)

---
Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/XmSXcSwIjNEYEXWwDr1Dk3
Published: 2026-09-05T16:06:02.925Z
Story chronology: 2026-09-05T15:17:36.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-20T21:17:58.736Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)