Tech Desk: Tesla has announced plans to begin selling its autonomous Cybercab to customers by the close of this year, a move that comes even as federal regulators are actively investigating the vehicle’s compliance with safety standards. This gold-hued, two-seater autonomous vehicle, notably lacking a steering wheel and traditional controls, is currently destined for Tesla’s own robotaxi fleet.

During a recent third-quarter earnings call, Tesla’s VP of Engineering, Lars Moravy, clarified that while initial Cybercabs will bolster the company’s ride-hailing service, customer sales will commence on a smaller scale. This marks a significant shift from Elon Musk’s previous focus on converting privately-owned Teslas into self-driving taxis via software updates, a plan that has yet to fully materialize.

The timeline is particularly striking as it suggests third-party fleet operators could acquire the autonomous Cybercab and launch robotaxi services before existing Tesla owners receive an unsupervised version of Full Self-Driving (FSD) in their own cars, which is now slated for Q2 next year. Musk emphasized that the Cybercab is primarily designed for ‘transport as a service,’ not personal ownership.

However, a major hurdle remains: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into the Cybercab just hours after it began public operations in Austin. Current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) mandate manual controls, which the Cybercab lacks. The outcome of this investigation will critically determine the vehicle’s legal operational status, potentially impacting Tesla’s ambitious sales and fleet expansion plans.