The Tesla Cybercab is available to individual buyers for $29,990, but the car only operates with a $299-per-month Autonomy Subscription, and only in Texas and Florida.
- Tesla has begun inviting a select group of customers to order the Cybercab at $29,990 before taxes, with a non-refundable $1,000 deposit.
- The car only operates with an extra $299 per month for the Autonomy Subscription, which comes to about $47,600 over 5 years.
- The Cybercab works only within Robotaxi service areas in Texas and Florida, which are noticeably smaller than what Tesla advertises.
- It runs the same AI4 computer as the Model Y, but Model Y owners still can't enable unsupervised mode.
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Cybercab orders open to individual buyers
Tesla has just invited a select group of customers to order the Cybercab for personal use. The car costs $29,990 before taxes. Tesla's official Robotaxi account announced this on X on Friday, along with screenshots of the order page and the invitation email.
The order page lists estimated delivery in December 2026 in Austin, Texas. Buyers must put down a $1,000 deposit, which is non-refundable. The $299-per-month subscription is checked by default, with the first month free. A footnote states that both the subscription and routine maintenance are required for the car to operate.
The real cost of ownership
As for specs, the Cybercab is unchanged from what was already known: two seats, a 21-inch center display, 20.1 cubic feet of cargo space, and no steering wheel or pedals. Tesla calls it a fully self-driving car, with owners managing trips through an app.
In 2024, Elon Musk promised the Cybercab would cost under $30,000. That holds true for the sticker price, but the subscription adds up to $3,588 per year. Over 5 years, the total comes to roughly $47,600 for a two-seater, before insurance, maintenance, taxes, and charging costs.
Service area is smaller than advertised
Tesla's Robotaxi service currently covers 8 cities. In Texas, these are Austin, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. In Florida, they are Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Outside these areas, the Cybercab can't operate.
According to Koby Pierce, an independent tracker, the area where Tesla actually picks up and drops off riders is only 59% to 78% of the advertised boundary in the 6 cities he checked. In Austin, where the first cars will be delivered, the figure is about 59%. In Houston, the app once quoted about 40 minutes for a 2-block trip, apparently because the car avoids intersections with railroad tracks. San Antonio's airport also sits inside the displayed zone but isn't served.
The Cybercab uses the same AI4 computer as the current Model Y, and Tesla has already run unsupervised Model Y Robotaxis in these areas. The question is why Model Y owners who have already paid for Full Self-Driving still can't enable the same feature, with that milestone now pushed to around Q2 2027. For prospective buyers, it's worth calculating the 5-year cost carefully and checking whether your home and workplace sit well within the service area before putting down a deposit.
Source: Electrek (electric vehicles)
Reviewed by: Hero Association
