Published : 05 Sep 2026, 10:37 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:47 AM
US federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla’s new driverless Cybercab taxis, a day after the vehicles began operating in Austin, Texas.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, is examining whether Tesla complied with federal safety standards when it deployed the two-seater vehicles, which have no steering wheel, side mirrors or brake pedals — equipment normally required for road use.
Tesla chief Elon Musk launched the Cybercab service in Austin on Thursday, sending dozens of the vehicles onto city streets as part of an event for invited guests, The Independent reports.
By Friday morning, Tesla shares had fallen more than 5 percent to $357.38 in early trading, erasing most of the previous day’s gains.
Ahead of the launch, Tesla said it had used a self-certification process to determine that the vehicles met federal standards.
The NHTSA said it would now audit “the process and technical data” supporting that certification.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Musk has described the Cybercab rollout as the beginning of a broader expansion of affordable driverless taxi services across the US.
The vehicles, which have no manual controls for passengers to use in an emergency, are expected to be integrated into Tesla’s existing robotaxi network.
That service has been operating in Austin for more than a year and has recently expanded to five other cities in Texas and Florida.
The Cybercab investigation adds to several other federal probes into Tesla’s self-driving technology.
Those include an investigation into crashes involving fog, sun glare and other low-visibility conditions, including one in which a pedestrian was killed.
