Tesla has opened pre-orders for its Cybercab robotaxi to select customers for personal use, according to TechCrunch. The vehicle costs $29,990 plus a $299 monthly operating fee, and deliveries are limited to a handful of Texas cities with geofenced operating areas.
Tesla’s @robotaxi account announced the move on X, saying select customers can now order the autonomous, two-seat Cybercab for their own use rather than only as part of Tesla’s robotaxi fleet. The order page lists an estimated delivery date of December 2026.
Tesla engineering lead Ashok Elluswamy said the personally owned Cybercabs will drive “unsupervised inside all the same geo locations as @robotaxi, just serving the owners’ needs,” meaning buyers are restricted to the same operating zones already approved for Tesla’s robotaxi service, not open roads nationwide.
Until now, Cybercab has existed only as a company-operated robotaxi, with Tesla running the vehicles itself rather than selling them to individual owners. Friday’s announcement marks the first time Tesla has framed Cybercab as something a private buyer can own outright, rather than only ride in as a passenger.
| Detail | What Tesla has said |
|---|---|
| Vehicle price | $29,990 |
| Monthly operating fee | $299 (Musk says it should be closer to $115) |
| Who can order now | Select customers only, per Tesla’s @robotaxi account |
| Delivery location | A handful of Texas cities |
| Where it can be driven | Only inside the same geofenced zones as Tesla’s robotaxi service |
| Estimated delivery | December 2026 |
Where can buyers actually use it
Buyers must accept delivery in one of a small number of Texas cities. The Cybercab will only operate inside geofenced zones that match Tesla’s existing robotaxi service areas, not wherever the owner happens to drive.
That restriction ties the personal-use Cybercab directly to the pace of Tesla’s own robotaxi rollout. As Tesla expands its approved robotaxi zones to new cities, personally owned Cybercabs in those areas would gain the same expanded range, according to Elluswamy’s comments reported by TechCrunch.
What Musk said about the price
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the announcement by calling the $299 monthly fee too high. He said it should be closer to the roughly $115 a month Tesla already charges for Full Self-Driving and connectivity on its other models.
Musk also said the Cybercab would become available nationwide once Tesla receives the needed regulatory approval, signaling the current Texas-only, geofenced launch is a starting point rather than the permanent footprint.
Why Tesla is pushing Cybercab now
The personal-use pre-order comes shortly after Tesla said it will stop building the Cybertruck next year and shift that factory capacity toward building more Cybercabs, per TechCrunch’s reporting. Cybertruck sales had fallen well short of Tesla’s original projections.
Opening Cybercab to individual buyers, not just Tesla’s own robotaxi fleet, gives the company a second demand channel for the vehicle while its robotaxi service is still limited to a small number of approved cities. It also ties Cybercab’s commercial fate more closely to how fast regulators let Tesla expand its geofenced operating zones, since a personally owned Cybercab is only as useful as the area it is allowed to drive in.
How the order process works
Tesla has not said how it is choosing which customers get early access, and the order page does not disclose a separate upfront deposit figure beyond the $29,990 vehicle price, according to TechCrunch’s report. That leaves open questions about when pre-orders will expand beyond the current select-customers group to the general public.
Musk’s response suggests Tesla sees the current Texas-only, geofenced terms as temporary rather than the final shape of the program. His comments tying the eventual monthly fee to the existing Full Self-Driving subscription price suggest Tesla may eventually fold Cybercab’s operating cost into the same subscription structure it already sells on other models.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Tesla Cybercab cost?
Tesla is pricing the Cybercab at $29,990, plus a $299 monthly operating fee, for personal-use pre-orders.
Where can a personally owned Cybercab be driven?
Only inside the same geofenced zones already approved for Tesla’s robotaxi service, with delivery currently limited to select Texas cities.
When will Cybercab deliveries start?
Tesla’s order page lists an estimated delivery date of December 2026 for the first personal-use units.
Can a Cybercab be driven outside its approved zone?
Not based on what Tesla has said. Elluswamy’s comments indicate the vehicle operates without a safety driver only inside the same geofenced areas already approved for Tesla’s robotaxi service, not on open roads generally.
Does Elon Musk think the price is fair?
No. Musk publicly called the $299 monthly fee too high and said it should be closer to the roughly $115 a month Tesla charges for Full Self-Driving and connectivity on its other models.
What to watch next: whether Tesla widens the geofenced zones as its robotaxi service expands to new cities, and whether Musk’s call to lower the $299 monthly fee leads to an actual price change before deliveries begin.
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