What’s it like to ride in a Tesla CyberCab without a steering wheel?

The woman in the car in front of me got irritated and slammed the steering wheel. Then she threw her arms in the air and finally leaned on the horn. I looked apologetic (I must look like an idiot) and tried to make it clear to her. I can’t control a car while I’m in the driver’s seat. Even if I wanted to, it wasn’t.

Indeed, there is a huge screen hanging in front of you. However, what is missing is the steering wheel, dashboard, gas pedal, and brakes.

It’s almost 100 degrees in a downtown Austin parking lot. Rush hour traffic backs up, cars backing up and then moving forward again to break up the chaos on the property. I’m also apparently supposed to back up to give the vehicles in front of and behind me room to back up and exit the space.

This is not a particularly complicated situation, but it is one that can only be resolved by communicating with other drivers. Problem: Unable to communicate. I have no influence over the behavior of my car. The gold-painted Tesla CyberCab is a fully self-driving car that lacks all the classic features of a car.

Then suddenly, the car suddenly goes into reverse.

I get nervous because I can’t see what’s going on behind me. The car has a black panel instead of a rear window and no side mirrors. I look out the window. As expected, the robotaxi backed up just enough to overtake the car in front of it, and entered a parking space on the way. After a few yards, the CyberCab repeats the maneuver. This is a feat that other self-driving cars have likely failed to achieve.

About 20 minutes ago, a robotaxis that reminded me strongly of the Need for Speed ​​game I played as a kid pulled into the street next to my hotel. There’s no need to scan a license plate like you would for a regular taxi or Uber order. The gleaming gold vehicle was impossible to miss, even from a distance.

Elon Musk aims to take on market leaders Uber and Lyft with the robotaxis. The world’s richest man also wants to overtake competitors like Waymo. The car is expected to fetch just $30,000 when it eventually goes on sale. It also eliminates the need for the bulky cameras that adorn other robotaxis. The target operating cost is $0.20 to $0.40 per mile, which is intended to be significantly lower than Alphabet’s Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox. Mr. Musk has had such plans since at least 2016, and this month a vehicle without a steering wheel became available for reservation in downtown Austin, where Mr. Musk sometimes lives.

Opinions are divided over the luxurious gold paintwork of taxis. Is it all just a flashy statement from Tesla’s president? Whatever Tesla’s CEO had in mind, it appears he achieved his goal of getting the most attention. Videos of the vehicle’s launch went viral on Instagram, and many times pedestrians and other drivers were seen pulling out their phones to take pictures during test drives.

Visually, this model looks sleeker than previous Teslas. Or, it’s certainly more sophisticated than the oversized Cybertruck, which was previously compared to a “toy car.” The CyberCab’s wheels are completely covered in ungainly gold panels, which annoyed me.

But where the car gets design points are the doors that automatically swing upwards when a passenger approaches, an operation typically associated with Italian luxury brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini. On the other hand, the letters “Cybercab” again remind us of video games and the Hot Wheels toy cars that children love.

The interior is simply put together. Instead of gold, the designer chose matte beige and black. With a screen roughly the size of a TV, passengers can log in to Spotify, YouTube, or Netflix to watch movies and shows during the ride.

Tesla clearly scores points for driving style. The car navigates rush hour traffic aggressively and agilely. At one point, the road reverts to the right lane just before a construction site and we cut in front of another car. This is not surprising. An inexperienced driver would probably have changed lanes earlier to slow down the driver behind him.

Still, there are concerns.

Austin police and fire departments are specially trained to rescue cars without steering wheels in the event of an accident or fire. But Austin Fire Chief Matthew McClarney wants a higher standard. The car can only be controlled via the app and screen. This includes emergency support. But what happens if a fire shatters the screen or the entire electronic system fails, leaving the taxi only able to be moved by crane? Tesla did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on McClarney’s concerns.

That’s not the only potential weakness of Tesla’s “golden robot.” Currently this concept is not user friendly. Prices are similar to Uber fares for the same route. However, reliable services cannot be booked yet. When you confirm your ride, the app will show a wait time of 40-50 minutes. After an hour and a half, there are still about 30 to 40 minutes left.

All of a sudden, a message appears: “Your taxi will arrive in 12 minutes.” Those who want to enjoy steering-wheel-free driving will need to bring plenty of time and flexibility, at least until Tesla expands the service further. By contrast, Tesla Model Y robotaxis (part of Tesla’s broader self-driving car service with steering wheels and pedals) are available in cities like Austin and Dallas with typical wait times of just a few minutes.

Tesla’s biggest weaknesses still need to be fixed before Tesla’s taxis can compete with the likes of Uber and Lyft. That means self-driving cars won’t be driving on highways. This is especially a problem in a city like Dallas, where it feels like almost everything in the city is made up of freeways. When I took the Model Y robotaxi for a test drive, it took me 34 minutes to travel the 12-minute route that Google Maps estimates. Because it takes a lot of time to avoid highways. In the few cities where robotaxis currently operate, the networks are limited to their respective downtown cores. For example, a trip to the airport that requires using the highway is simply not possible.

To be fair, carriers claim that this is only true in the early stages, meaning that route coverage will expand significantly within a few years. For Tesla, the real test from the fire is yet to come. Backed by vast amounts of data collected, CyberCabs could safely navigate city traffic at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. But how the car performs on highways and multi-lane roads at speeds over 120 mph is something Tesla has yet to prove.

In America’s tech capitals like Austin and San Francisco, self-driving cars are part of the cityscape. In Europe, by contrast, this technology is still in its infancy, which may be one reason why the debate over driver job security has so far remained a secondary issue. Widespread adoption of self-driving cars would mean dramatic job losses.

But that day still seems far away. According to market leader Waymo, there are currently about 4,000 fully driverless robotaxis on American roads. Uber and Lyft alone are estimated to have more than 1.7 million drivers. In addition, there are about 450,000 taxi, shuttle and chauffeur drivers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. This gives it a market share of less than 0.2%.

Still, self-driving is a bet on the future, and that’s especially reflected in Tesla’s stock price, which rose markedly after the CyberCab’s September launch. Tesla’s market value is currently approximately $1.1 trillion. Dan Ives, a Wall Street analyst at Wedbush Securities, believes the company could capture about 80% of the robotaxi business, but rival Waymo already has a significant head start, with 14 million rides in 2025 alone.

Back on the road to Austin. When the run is finished, the door will open again. The CyberCab can’t be parked anywhere, so it’s still a 3 minute walk to the actual destination. This is another weakness. People with heavy luggage or limited mobility cannot expect to be picked up or dropped off at a precise location and must make do with general locations around them.

To get back to the hotel, I ended up booking a taxi driven by a human. And waiting for hours is not an option.

Sylvain, a friendly driving man who came to the United States from the Central African Republic about 20 years ago, says he’s not immediately worried about losing his job to AI anytime soon. Still, he says it’s both interesting and disturbing how many robotaxis are currently on Austin’s streets.

“You never know what the future will bring,” he said, stepping on the gas.

This story first appeared in In the German Werth, Courtesy of Axel Springer Global Reporter Networkleverages the resources of our newsroom to publish ambitious scoops, investigations, interviews, opinion pieces, and analysis. This allows journalists from POLITICO, Business Insider, WELT, BILD, Onet, Fakt and more to collaborate on important stories across platforms and to an international audience of hundreds of millions of people.