It was a slightly muted launch event, but it seems that Tesla Cybercab robotaxis are now in action around the company’s headquarter city of Austin in Texas. 

The cars don’t have steering wheels or pedals inside the cabin, which makes for a novel experience, especially when prototype self-driving taxis in London still require a safety driver on board. 

The launch event this week was also notable for the absence of the company’s driver – Elon Musk didn’t attend the party to celebrate the rollout of what has become a headline car for the company in recent years. Tesla also recently announced that its Semi truck will launch in Europe this month. 

​Tesla already operates Model Y autonomous cabs in a number of US cities, but this is the first time that the company’s new Cybercab has been in action taking paid rides – it won’t be available as a series production model. 

Data available from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles shows 45 Cybercabs registered with the state as part of its autonomous vehicle programme, and Tesla has announced that it is providing paid rides for customers within limited areas of Austin. 

The launch has apparently already attracted the attention of the NHTSA, the US national road safety body. The way that car regulation in the United States works is that manufacturers self-certify that their cars meet regulations and they can go on the road. 

While the NHTSA removed the requirement for cars to have human controls in 2022, there appears to be some dispute as to whether there are other existing requirements for cars on US roads that can’t be enforced if the cars don’t have the manual controls.