Tesla is making something of a transition. Rather than remaining an EV automaker with drivable options like the Model Y and Cybertruck, Tesla is putting many of its eggs in the autonomous vehicle basket. Now, the EV maker says the Tesla Cybercab is mere weeks away from its target launch date in Austin, Texas. 

Not even one year after its unveiling, Elon Musk and company target June 12th for the Tesla Cybercab launch in Austin, Texas

According to a Bloomberg report, the powers-that-be at Tesla have been discussing June 12, just two weeks from now, to launch the Tesla Cybercab in the Texas capital city. Now, before you start jumping to the jokes about driverless cars smashing into Bevo, the UT Austin mascot, the Robotaxi has reportedly completed tests on Austin streets already.

CEO Elon Musk took to social media to tout the self-driving car’s performance on Austin’s busy roads. “For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents,” Musk said in a post on his platform X, formerly Twitter. 

The seating situation is an interesting distinction. Have you ever heard the ancient philosophical thought experiment, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well, the Tesla Cybercab is completely self-driving. No controls like a steering wheel. So, if there is no position from which you can drive it, is there a driver’s seat at all? 

He then celebrated the accelerated timeframe in the very same social media post. “A month ahead of schedule,” Musk wrote. “Next month, first self-delivery from factory to customer.” That last statement implies that the first sold Tesla Cybercab will drive itself to an Austin buyer. 

Cybercab is far from the only name in self-driving transportation in Central Texas

Even with the Tesla Robotaxi, oft referred to as the Cybercab, on Austin streets, it won’t be alone in the self-driving vehicle space. Waymo, a leader in autonomous driving technology, currently operates a fleet of around 100 self-driving Jaguar I-PACE EVs around the city. And business is good.

According to Business Insider, Waymo’s autonomous cabs are far busier than the average Uber driver in the city. “These approximately 100 vehicles are now busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day,” so says Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. However, with Robotaxis up for personal use, the dynamic is different.

As of now, customers aren’t able to buy their very own Waymo-equipped I-PACE. And at a price target under $30,000, the Tesla Cybercab is considerably cheaper than a fully-equipped Waymo EV.