Tesla's driverless Cybercab completes Austin test rides with no steering wheel or pedals
Two experienced Tesla Full Self-Driving users, Sawyer Merritt and Kevin O'Connor, rode Tesla's Cybercab prototype in Austin, a vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals. According to Tesla's Q2 earnings call, as cited by Merritt, approximately half of North American Tesla buyers now add Full Self-Driving at checkout, up from 10–20% a few years ago. O'Connor documented 12,493 of his last 12,596 miles driven using FSD. Merritt characterizes Tesla's cost advantage over Waymo as structural: Tesla builds its own vehicles, while Waymo imports third-party vehicles, making price parity difficult for competitors.
🧭 In Context
Tesla's autonomous vehicle program has generated substantial mainstream media coverage (100+ articles tracked). According to the source, Merritt and O'Connor are demonstrating real-world performance of the Cybercab as Tesla expands Full Self-Driving adoption. The source argues Tesla's vertical integration—manufacturing its own vehicles—creates a cost advantage Waymo cannot match through third-party vehicle imports. This represents Tesla's push toward mass-market autonomous vehicles without human controls.
📹 Source Video
What remains unclear
- ?Whether Tesla's cited Q2 earnings figure—that half of North American buyers add FSD at checkout—includes all regions or is limited to specific markets.
- ?The timeline for Cybercab commercial availability and regulatory approval in the United States.
✓ Verified
- ✓Sawyer Merritt and Kevin O'Connor rode Tesla's Cybercab in Austin. (YouTube/Yahoo Finance source)
- ✓The Cybercab has no steering wheel and no pedals. (YouTube/Yahoo Finance source)
- ✓Both riders have used Tesla Full Self-Driving for years. (YouTube/Yahoo Finance source)
- ✓O'Connor drove 12,493 of his last 12,596 miles on FSD. (YouTube/Yahoo Finance source)
- ✓100 mainstream media articles have covered Tesla's Cybercab development. (MSM article count provided)
~ Interpretation
- ~Approximately half of North American buyers now add FSD at checkout, up from 10–20% historically. (Merritt cites Tesla Q2 earnings call, but the earnings call claim itself is not independently verified in the source data)
- ~Waymo cannot match the Cybercab on cost because it buys and imports third-party vehicles rather than building its own. (O'Connor's analysis, not independently verified)
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