Tesla Cybercab First Ride: What It’s Really Like to Use Tesla’s New Autonomous TaxiMotorTrendEdward Loh, Jofel TolosaTue, September 8, 2026 at 3:18 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleTesla Cybercab First Ride ReviewJofel Tolosa - MotorTrendMotorTrend social media editor Jofel Tolosa recently attended Tesla's Cybercab Launch Day, in Austin, Texas, and captured all the facts, photos, and videos required to produce our First Look of the Tesla Cybercab.In his roughly 24 hours on the ground in Austin, the first and only city where Cybercab rides are presently available to the general public, Tolosa used the Tesla Robotaxi app to hail five rides within the service's operational domain, in and around the Austin city center. Here are five things we learned about the Cybercab and Tesla's Robotaxi service that you use to hail one.Pricing Is VariableIn his five rides around Austin, Tolosa went from:AdvertisementAdvertisementACL Live, the Cybercab Launch Day venue, to The Good BBQ restaurant. Distance: 2.4 miles. Cost: $6.84The Good BBQ restaurant to the Hilton Hotel Austin. Distance: 1.6 miles. Cost: $5.91Hilton Hotel Austin to Sugarwolf Bakery. Distance: 0.6 miles. Cost $4.73Sugarwolf Bakery to Hilton Hotel. Distance: 0.7 miles. Cost: $4.80.Hilton Hotel Austin to Starbucks. Distance: 6.2 miles. Cost: $11.44.That added up to:Total miles ridden: 11.5Total cost: $33.72Average cost per mile: $2.93Before you go Googlin' how much per mile other services like Uber, Lyft, and Waymo cost, we already did that and it's very roughly $1 to $2 per mile. But there's a lot of variability in the rates of all ride-hailing services, which typically charge a base rate (cost of the trip) plus wait times (for things like traffic) and then, of course, surge or demand pricing.Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendAlso, three of Tolosa's trips in Austin were short; two were under a mile, and the other less than two miles. The longest trip averaged roughly $1.85 per mile, which is in line with the average rates of competing services.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Robotaxi service is quite new, having only opened to the public on Friday, September 4, 2026. According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Tesla has 45 Cybercabs registered in the Austin area. Tesla also stated that dynamic pricing and the addition of more Cybercabs will drive costs lower."We also use dynamic pricing to balance supply and demand. As we add more and more Cybercabs to our network, our average wait times are going to get lower and lower and lower, largely due to dynamic pricing. And our pricing is going to be very competitive," said Silvio Brugada, head of vehicle software for Cybercab.But enough of how much it costs, how does it work?How to Hail a CybercabTo hail a ride in one of Tesla's gold-colored, two-seat, two-door autonomous vehicles, riders need to download Tesla's existing Robotaxi smartphone app, which is already in use for its other, Model Y-based robotaxis and works like other ride-hailing services. Tesla claims it will send the closest Cybercab to you, and upon approach, the vehicle will start configuring its cabin to the settings you have pre-selected in your profile, including air conditioning temperature, seats going to the position you prefer, and audio/video entertainment. Your Cybercab will also display a color on center external lights and on the screen inside that matches the color shown in the app.Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrend"Hailing a Cybercab was easy and similar to Lyft and Uber. The cool part of the app is it will direct you to your Cybercab with arrows. This is useful if there are many Cybercabs picking up people nearby," said Tolosa.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Cybercab's butterfly doors are a talking point. They're powered so that the car can open and close from the app or the screen, and as Tolosa discovered, they opened automatically for him upon approach.Inside the Gold CabThere is no steering wheel inside the Cybercab, and no accelerator or brake pedal either. Just a large, open footwell covered in gray carpet, with a familiar touchscreen display mounted on the dash. Two seats, separated by dual cupholders, are covered in black leatherette and have traditional three-point seat belts. They look soft in pictures, but we didn't find them all that supportive.Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrend"The seats are not particularly comfortable. The back part is completely flat with no lumbar support," said Tolosa. He did say that the Cybercab is extremely spacious for a small car, and has a few convenience features, including two USB-C outlets, window controls, and a manual door lever if you need to get out in a hurry.Similar to Tesla's Model Y-based Robotaxis, a Cybercab won't start the ride until you fasten your seat belts and press the "start ride" button on the touchscreen.How Does It Ride?The Cybercab has been optimized for low cost, long life, and maximum operating and manufacturing efficiency. Traditionally, that hasn't been a recipe conducive to making a plush riding or premium driving experience. As mentioned, Tolosa wasn't particularly impressed by the seats, but found the ride to be very familiar. "The Cybercab's ride feels like any other Tesla. Smooth, but it can be bumpy on rough roads," he said.Does It Really Drive Itself?In a word, yes. Cybercab uses a variant of Tesla's video camera-based Full Self Driving (Supervised) system that has been deployed across its production car lines since 2023. We've written extensively about it and have noted massive improvements from FSD (Supervised) version 12 to the current iteration, version 14. Tolosa found the implementation of FSD in Cybercab to be equally impressive.AdvertisementAdvertisement"The self-driving is amazing. It's a smooth and quiet ride. The signal lights don't make a sound either. I had one incident when it stopped because another car cut us off," said Tolosa. After getting past the weirdness of sitting in a car that's driving itself, Tolosa explored the other things you can do."I love that you can watch YouTube while riding or listen to your favorite music or podcast. Sign into Spotify once and it will remember your account on your next ride," said Tolosa.Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendAnd when the ride is over, the Cybercab has a few other tricks. "When being dropped off there are cameras to show you oncoming traffic before you exit the doors. You can open the trunk on the app or on the interior screen. And the trunk can easily hold a check in luggage, a carry on, and a backpack. Maybe more," said Tolosa.Service is Limited for NowWe found during our rides that there are still a few quirks to be sorted out. A couple of the minor aggravations had to do with where and how precisely the Cybercab would drop off.AdvertisementAdvertisement"During my rides it didn't drop me off exactly at my destination. It was always a three-plus minute walk away. This was annoying because it was super humid in Austin, with a sprinkle of rain," said Tolosa.Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendTolosa also discovered that the Cybercab doesn't drive on the freeway. It uses surface streets only, which is how other autonomous driving services, such as Waymo, operate at present. Similarly, you can't take a Cybercab to Austin Bergstrom airport, yet."Robotaxi service doesn't go to the airport yet. I called for one that would take me to the closest Starbucks to the airport. It avoided the freeway and only took regular roads," said Tolosa.Tesla Cybercabs are currently only available for rides by the general public in Austin, Texas. For more on how the Cybercab works, check out our deeper dive from the launch event.Photo credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: Jofel Tolosa - MotorTrend