--- title: "Elon Musk-Led Tesla's Cybercab Spotted Testing In Austin Amid Robotaxi, Driverless Push" description: "Tesla's Cybercab was spotted testing in Austin, Texas, as part of Elon Musk's driverless operations goal. Influencer Sawyer Merritt shared images of the Cybercab, while Dan O'Dowd criticized its manua" type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/270279664.md" published_at: "2025-12-19T08:24:14.000Z" --- # Elon Musk-Led Tesla's Cybercab Spotted Testing In Austin Amid Robotaxi, Driverless Push > Tesla's Cybercab was spotted testing in Austin, Texas, as part of Elon Musk's driverless operations goal. Influencer Sawyer Merritt shared images of the Cybercab, while Dan O'Dowd criticized its manual driving. Tesla faces a 30-day suspension in California over deceptive marketing terms. South Korean lawmaker praised Tesla's FSD technology. TSLA stock declined 4.62% but rose 0.46% after hours. A **Tesla Inc.** (NASDAQ:TSLA) Cybercab was recently spotted testing in Austin amid CEO **Elon Musk**'s driverless operations goal. ## Cybercab In Austin On Thursday, influencer **Sawyer Merritt** took to the social media platform X, sharing pictures of a Cybercab in gold with Texas registration plates being driven around the streets of Austin. *Tesla didn't immediately respond to* Benzinga*'s request for comment.* Recently, a Model Y Robotaxi was also spotted in Austin operating on the streets autonomously, sparking claims that the Austin Robotaxi fleet would be going driverless soon. Musk later confirmed that testing was underway in the city. "The future is autonomous," Merritt said, adding that it was the first time the cab was being tested on Austin roads. > NEWS: Tesla's Cybercab spotted testing on public roads in Austin, Texas for the first time. > > The future is autonomous 🤖 https://t.co/8y213J6kJV pic.twitter.com/0grViqGqoN > > — Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 18, 2025 ## Dan O'Dowd Slams Cybercab **The Dawn Project** founder, **Dan O'Dowd**, took to the social media platform X on Thursday, sharing a video of a Cybercab being driven by a human driver on the road with a steering wheel and pedals, sharing that Tesla "cultists" were getting excited about the Cybercab. "This is supposed to be Tesla’s purpose-built robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals," O'Dowd said. He then took a sarcastic jibe at the Cybercab for having a steering wheel and pedals and "being driven manually by a human being!" > $TSLA Cultists are getting excited about a "Cybercab" being spotted. This is supposed to be Tesla's purpose-built robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals. > > Except it has a steering wheal, and pedals. > > And it's being driven manually by a human being! 😂pic.twitter.com/ciXJ61Dolv > > — Dan O'Dowd (@RealDanODowd) December 19, 2025 It's worth noting that the Cybercab shown in the video by O'Dowd has California registration plates and was first seen after a video was posted on X late last month. It is not the same unit of the Cybercab spotted in Austin, though it cannot be verified at this moment if the Austin unit was also being piloted by a human driver. ## Cybercab With Steering And Pedals Tesla Board Chair **Robyn Denholm** had earlier shared that the company could manufacture a Cybercab with steering wheels and pedals to meet regulatory rules. Investor **Ross Gerber**, too, earlier suggested that the company could manufacture the 2-door Cybercab as an entry-level, affordable model in the automaker’s lineup. ## Tesla's California FSD Debacle, Gene Munster Calls Ruling ‘Absurd' The news comes as the automaker is facing a suspension of its license to manufacture and sell its vehicles in California for 30 days after a court ruling deemed the EV giant's use of marketing terms like "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving (FSD) to be deceptive. The decision comes after a lawsuit was filed in the state by the California DMV. Following the decision, investor **Gene Munster** of **Deepwater Asset Management** called the ruling "absurd," saying that the company issues a clear message that urges drivers to be attentive whenever FSD is turned on. Munster had earlier predicted Tesla would expand driverless Robotaxi operations in multiple cities next year. ## Tesla FSD Receives South Korean Lawmaker's Nod The technology was also hailed by South Korean National Assembly member **Lee So-young**, who praised the FSD system as a "completed technology” that could have the potential to change people’s daily lives. She also said that she would encourage other leaders in the country to experience the technology. Tesla scores well on Momentum and Quality metrics, while offering satisfactory Growth, but poor Value. It also has a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium and Long term. For more such insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings today! **Price Action:** According to Benzinga Pro data, TSLA declined 4.62% to $467.26 at market close. However, it surged 0.46% to $469.40 during the after-hours session. *Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by* following this link. **Read Next:** - Trump Unveils Lunar, Mars Roadmap In ‘American Space Superiority’ Executive Order *Photo courtesy: Shutterstock* ### Related Stocks - [TSLA.US - Tesla](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md) - [TSDD.US - GraniteShares 2x Short TSLA Daily ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSDD.US.md) - [TSLL.US - Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 2X Shares](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLL.US.md) - [TSLQ.US - AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLQ.US.md) - [09366.HK - XI2CSOPTSLA-U](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09366.HK.md) - [07766.HK - XL2CSOPTSLA](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07766.HK.md) - [07366.HK - XI2CSOPTSLA](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07366.HK.md) - [TSLR.US - GraniteShares 2x Long TSLA Daily ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLR.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 特斯拉将 AI 芯片设计工作扩展至韩国，正在积极招聘工程师 | 特斯拉正在积极招聘韩国的人工智能芯片设计师，以增强其芯片生产能力，这对其电动车至关重要。该公司旨在开发全球最高产量的人工智能芯片架构。感兴趣的候选人可以通过电子邮件向特斯拉申请人工智能芯片设计工程师职位，需提供他们在技术问题解决方面的经验。 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276008075.md) | | 埃隆·马斯克表示，特斯拉将在他所能想象的未来时间内，拥有 “最大规模” 的自动驾驶车队 | 埃隆·马斯克，特斯拉公司（NASDAQ:TSLA）首席执行官，宣布他设想特斯拉未来将拥有最大的自动驾驶汽车车队，这与公司的长期目标和人工智能投资相一致。特斯拉目前正在奥斯汀测试其机器人出租车，并与 Waymo 等公司竞争。自动驾驶汽车的竞争 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276007509.md) | | 特斯拉将 Model Y 长续航后轮驱动版引入英国 | 特斯拉在英国推出了后驱长续航版 Model Y，起售价为 44,990 英镑，比其前身低了 4,000 英镑。该车型提供 383 英里的 WLTP 续航，并进行了多项规格调整，包括分体式灯光布局、取消全景天窗以及缩小音响系统。豪华版的售价为 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276044926.md) | | 特斯拉在美国的销量下降了 17%，这引发了人们对电动车发展势头的质疑 | 特斯拉在美国的销量下降了 17%，这引发了人们对电动车势头的质疑，这也是其中的一部分…… | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275985008.md) | | 特斯拉因与 Apple Maps 的兼容性问题而推迟了 Apple CarPlay 的推出 | 特斯拉因与苹果地图的兼容性问题，特别是在自动驾驶期间的逐向导航，推迟了 Apple CarPlay 的推出。尽管苹果在 iOS 26 发布后开发了修复方案并包含在安全更新中，但特斯拉在确保所有用户都能获得必要更新之前，对部署 CarPlay | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276010157.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.