Making Tech Headlines · Page 3
Cybercab Gets a Sales Calendar, Regulators Keep Their Own
· New York time
Tesla says it will start selling its Cybercab to customers by the end of the year, even as federal regulators investigate whether the vehicle meets safety standards. The autonomous two-seater lacks a steering wheel and other traditional driving controls. The announcement came during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call. It supplies a company sales target, not a resolution of the regulatory questions surrounding the vehicle. A calendar entry is useful, but it is not a substitute for compliance. For customers, the design makes autonomy central rather than optional. In a conventional car, a driver can take responsibility through familiar controls. A vehicle without them places different demands on the system, its permitted uses and the rules governing it. That creates a practical business challenge alongside the engineering challenge. Tesla must connect its promised timetable with the requirements for a vehicle people can legally purchase and use. The two schedules do not necessarily advance at the same speed. The gold-colored exterior may make the Cybercab look ready for a ceremonial debut. The harder task is getting the less photogenic details aligned. Somewhere between the earnings presentation and the customer driveway sits a federal standards checklist, an object famously resistant to being impressed by paint.
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