Tesla has started taking orders for its Cybercab for personal use, pricing the two-seat robotaxi at $29,990 plus a mandatory $299 monthly subscription, a fee CEO Elon Musk said hours later was “too high.”
“Select customers are now being invited to purchase Cybercab for personal use,” the company wrote on its Robotaxi account on X on Friday evening, after U.S. markets closed. It attached images of the order page and of the invitation email sent to buyers.
The order page shows a $1,000 non-refundable deposit and an estimated delivery in December 2026. The $299 “Autonomy Subscription” is listed separately from the vehicle price, with the first month included. “Subscription and regular vehicle maintenance required to operate,” the page says.
“Price shown excludes taxes and is billed separately each month until canceled. Terms apply,” it adds.
Five Texas Cities Only
Buyers must take delivery in one of five Texas cities: Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or Fort Worth, according to the order page shared on X by YouTuber Marques Brownlee. Those are the five Texas cities where Tesla’s Robotaxi service operates.
The car only works inside those service areas. Tesla’s invitation email describes an “Early Access, Limited Release” and says the Cybercab is “only available in supported service areas.”
“Order your own Cybercab for personal use,” it says. “Cybercab is making transportation more efficient, affordable and accessible than ever before.” It adds that “initial availability is limited.”
Tesla runs its Robotaxi service in eight cities, including Miami, Orlando and Tampa in Florida, but the order page lists no Florida delivery locations.
“It’ll work unsupervised inside all the same geo locations as @robotaxi, just serving the owners’ needs,” Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, wrote on X. Asked whether an owner could park the car at home inside the service area, he replied: “Yes, it can park in your driveway.”
Expensive Fee
Brownlee summed up the terms on X: “Invite only. Must accept delivery to one of these cities in Texas. Only operates in those existing geofenced areas. Requires a $300 monthly subscription to operate. One vehicle per customer.”
Musk responded directly. “It will be available nationwide, as we receive regulatory approval,” he wrote. “But the monthly fee is too high. Should match the cost of Tesla FSD and connectivity for other models, which is more like ~$115/month.”
Tesla charges $99 a month for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the United States, where it has sold the software only as a subscription since earlier this year, and $9.99 a month for its Premium Connectivity package. Musk did not say when the Cybercab fee would change.
The Brownlee Bet
The launch revived a wager Brownlee made after the Cybercab’s October 2024 unveiling, where Musk said “you will be able to buy one” and that Tesla expected “the cost to be below $30,000.”
Brownlee said he would shave his head if Tesla sold the car to customers for under $30,000 before 2027.
Brownlee argued on X that his “hair is safe.” He listed three reasons: there are no deliveries yet, sales are “invite only, not actually publicly available yet,” and the car is limited to private use inside the existing geofenced locations.
“It’s a paperweight if I take this thing home,” he wrote, adding that this point was “not actually part of the bet.” “Hey @grok, set a timer for 48 days from now,” he wrote.
He added that he would donate on January 1 “either way.” Musk sided with Brownlee’s critics. The Whole Mars Catalog account wrote: “Marques, be a man and honor your word.” Musk replied: “He’s a chicken.”
Asked by an X user whether the bet was lost, the Grok chatbot answered “Yes,” saying “the bet is lost if a Cybercab is delivered to a customer for $30k or less before 2027.”
Musk replied with fire and robotic-arm emojis and then tagged Brownlee in a second reply. He also replied with a target emoji to a post by investor Steven Mark Ryan mocking Brownlee’s reasoning.
What Owners Sign Up For
Tesla has not published the purchase terms on its own accounts. Spencer, a Tesla owner who posts on X as ‘scotsrule08’, shared details of the Cybercab order agreement and the Autonomy Subscription Agreement after receiving an invitation.
According to the documents he shared, Cybercab may be used only for “personal, non-commercial use.” It cannot be put on Tesla’s own Robotaxi network or third-party ride-hailing, delivery or rental platforms unless Tesla authorizes it in writing or enables it in the product.
Owners cannot sell or transfer the car without Tesla’s prior written consent. An unauthorized sale triggers liquidated damages of the greater of $50,000 or the full value received, and Tesla may disable the vehicle. Tesla may also buy the car back at any time at fair market value as it determines.
“Your Cybercab will not operate without an active Autonomy Subscription,” the subscription agreement says.
The subscription includes autonomous driving, vehicle connectivity, remote support and roadside assistance. The agreement gives no price, and Tesla will give one month’s notice before any price change, according to the documents.
Three or more strikeouts for improper or unsafe use bring a one-week suspension of autonomous driving with no refund for the month, and Tesla may remotely locate, restrict or stop the vehicle.
The subscription covers items such as tire and windshield replacement, wipers, cabin air filters, inspections and towing of up to about 50 miles. Owners pay for insurance, registration, charging and parking, and must hold insurance even for unoccupied trips. The car arrives with about 250 miles on the odometer and charges only at NACS DC fast chargers, including Superchargers.
A Car Built for a Fleet
The personal-use launch sits awkwardly with how Tesla has described the Cybercab’s business model. On the third-quarter earnings call on October 21, Musk said the “vast majority” of Cybercabs will remain Tesla-owned and run as “transport as a service.”
“In short, we’re trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, 2026,” Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, said on the same call. All Cybercabs built so far had gone to Tesla’s own Robotaxi fleet, he said.
In September, Tesla opened an interest form for businesses wanting to buy Cybercab fleets, and the program’s lead said in a since-deleted post that tens of thousands of people had filled it out within five days.
The personal version flips that model. Owners pay for the car and its running costs, while Tesla collects a monthly fee and keeps control over where, how and by whom the vehicle is used.
No Steering Wheel, 293 Miles
The Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals. The current version has a 47.6 kilowatt-hour battery and an estimated range of 293 miles, and Musk said last week that Tesla plans a smaller 40 kWh pack and a liquid silver version.
The invitation email promises “fully adjustable seating for two,” an extra-large 21-inch center touchscreen and 20.1 cubic feet of storage, “enough room for luggage, golf clubs, scooters and more.” Owners will monitor the vehicle and manage rides in an app.
Regulators Still Reviewing
The sale comes while U.S. safety regulators are still examining how Tesla certified the Cybercab.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened Audit Query AQ26002 and on September 10 issued a Special Order with 21 requests, covering items from lighting and controls to service brakes. Tesla’s answer was due October 30.
NHTSA proposed in June to drop the hand or foot brake control requirement in federal standard FMVSS 135 for vehicles driven only by an automated system.
Tesla’s shares closed down 1.8% at $390.22 on Friday, before the announcement. They are down 13.2% this year.
