‘A Storm of Cybercabs’: Musk launches steering-wheel-free taxis even as 70% of Americans say they’re uncomfortable with driverless cars
Tesla’s gold-colored taxis have no steering wheels or brake pedals—and give passengers no way to take control in an emergency.
Elon Musk introduced several self-driving Cybercab taxis without steering wheels or brake pedals in Austin, Texas, on Thursday. The gold-colored Teslas, which permit no passenger control in emergencies, aim to overcome Americans' fears of rides with "no control." Tesla shares jumped over 5% on hopes the futuristic taxis would be popular.
Musk teased the launch on X, saying "No steering wheel, no pedals," and later wrote "A Storm of Cybercabs." The rollout comes as Tesla trails self-driving taxi leader Waymo and aims to catch up by demonstrating its camera-only system's safety. A Pew Research Center survey found that 70% of U.S. adults were not too or not at all comfortable with driverless cars. Despite this, Tesla stock rose Thursday amid hopes of quick adoption.
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