Elon Musk announces Tesla has begun manufacturing its autonomous taxi fleet

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File: Elon Musk

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Tesla’s much-touted autonomous “robotaxi”, called the Cybercab, has started production, CEO Elon Musk said on Friday, the same week that the carmaker reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations.

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Musk posted a promotional video on X accompanied with the brief caption, “Cybercab has started production.”

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The 38-second clip, mostly shot from within a driverless Cybercab, showed the vehicle rolling off the factory floor and driving onto streets.

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Musk also shared a short video clip showing what appeared to be multiple gold-colored Cybercabs driving in formation on a road.

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Tesla said on Wednesday it was on track to commence “volume production” of both its Cybercab and Tesla Semi this year, after reporting first-quarter profits of $477 million.

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Cybercab — billed as a self-driving robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals — was first unveiled in the fall of 2024, with Musk predicting at the time that it would become available in 2027.

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Tesla began offering robotaxi services to “early access” users on an invitation-only basis in the US city of Austin, Texas, last June.

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The auto manufacturer posted a photo in February showing employees gathered around a Cybercab on a factory floor, with the caption “First Cybercab off the production line at Giga Texas.”

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