Elon Musk launches steering-wheel-free Tesla Cybercabs in bet riders lose no control fears

Elon Musk sent dozens of self-driving Cybercabs without steering wheels or brake pedals onto the streets of Austin, Texas, on Thursday, betting that Americans will overcome their fears of rides with “no control” and hop inside.The rollout of the gold-colored Teslas, which give passengers no way to take control in an emergency, comes as the company prepares to launch the service in other cities.Tesla shares have suffered amid a slump in vehicle sales, but they rose more than 5% Thursday on hopes that the futuristic-looking taxis will catch on quickly.“No steering wheel, no pedals,” Tesla teased on X before the launch.

Musk followed with a post showing a giant Cybercab floating above the Austin skyline and later wrote, “A Storm of Cybercabs.”An invitation-only launch event was expected to be held later Thursday.It is unclear how soon Musk intends to roll out the Cybercab service, but he needs to move quickly.Tesla trails self-driving taxi leader Waymo in the number of cabs deployed and trips completed.To catch up, it must demonstrate that its camera-only system can safely navigate streets and avoid pedestrians.

By contrast, Waymo and another rival, Amazon’s Zoox, supplement cameras with radar and a laser-based technology called lidar.Even if the technology works well, Americans still need to be convinced.A Pew Research Center survey conducted in February found that seven in 10 US adults were “not too” or “not at all” comfortable riding in a driverless car.Tesla stock was battered last year after Musk took over President Trump’s government cost-cutting campaign, dubbed DOGE, and embraced extreme-right political candidates, sparking protests at Tesla showrooms and boycotts by car buyers in several countries.Tesla posted a second consecutive annual decline in vehicle sales last year.Its profits plunged, and it lost its crown as the world’s best-selling electric vehicle maker to China’s BYD.Austin has had a self-driving Tesla “robotax...