Tesla announced Wednesday that it will begin selling its futuristic Cybercab to customers by the end of the year, a move that comes even as federal regulators actively investigate whether the autonomous, two-seat vehicle complies with established federal safety standards. The striking gold-hued vehicle, which notably lacks a steering wheel and other traditional driver controls, has become the centerpiece of the company’s long-term autonomous strategy.

During Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, Lars Moravy, the company’s vice president of engineering, explained that all Cybercabs currently rolling off production lines are initially destined for Tesla’s own proprietary robotaxi fleet. As that internal fleet expands, however, the company plans to transition into commercial sales. Tesla will "mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers," Moravy said, noting that the rollout will begin on a small scale. The automaker intends to scale up its delivery operations gradually as it gains practical experience regarding the delivery, ownership, and fleet management of fully autonomous vehicles.

The possibility of selling the autonomous vehicle to third parties was first floated by Tesla last month around the time of its high-profile Cybercab launch event in Austin, Texas. At the time, the company even posted an online expression-of-interest form for individuals and businesses interested in purchasing and operating their own robotaxi fleets. However, industry observers remained uncertain whether Tesla would actually follow through on the idea, or what logistical framework would govern such sales.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has talked for years about building a massive, low-cost fleet of robotaxis. Until recently, those ambitious plans centered primarily on a software update that would transform privately owned Tesla vehicles into self-driving taxis operated by individual owners.

That specific vision has yet to materialize, and Musk’s commentary during the recent earnings call highlighted a notable shift in the company’s strategic priorities.

Today, Tesla vehicle owners can subscribe to Full Self-Driving (Supervised), an advanced driver-assistance system that automates many routine driving tasks. Despite its name, the system still requires a human driver to supervise operations and remain ready to take control at a moment’s notice. While Tesla continuously pushes out software updates to enhance the system’s capabilities, human drivers are legally and operationally required to remain fully engaged—a rule frequently tested by drivers sharing boundary-pushing demonstration videos online.

During Wednesday’s earnings call, Musk announced that an unsupervised version of the Full Self-Driving software would finally be rolled out to customers sometime in the second quarter of next year. This marks yet another delay for Tesla owners, many of whom originally purchased or subscribed to the software package years ago under the impression that true autonomy was just around the corner.

If both of Tesla’s current timelines hold true, it would create an unusual dynamic: third-party fleet customers would be legally and logistically able to purchase the autonomous Cybercab and operate it as a commercial robotaxi service before individual Tesla owners gain access to equivalent autonomous capabilities in their own personal cars.

Musk emphasized that the Cybercab is designed strictly as a dedicated ride-hailing vehicle rather than a personal car meant for individual ownership. The Cybercab is primarily going to be something that is offered as transport as a service, Musk explained during the call, contrasting it with Tesla’s consumer lineup. Other models like the Model 3, Model Y, and the Roadster remain the types of cars people naturally want to own, he noted, while the vast majority of Cybercab operations will essentially be Tesla-owned and operated as a service.

Despite the ambitious timelines laid out by executives, at least one major obstacle threatens to disrupt Tesla’s rollout plans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the primary federal auto safety regulator, announced last month that it had opened a formal investigation into the Cybercab. The regulatory scrutiny began just hours after the autonomous vehicles first began operating on public streets in Austin.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) strictly require the inclusion of manual controls, including physical brake pedals, alongside other traditional hardware features such as rearview and side mirrors. Traditionally, automakers in the United States self-certify whether their manufactured vehicles comply with these FMVSS regulations, and Tesla followed this established process for the Cybercab.

Current federal regulations do not formally accommodate vehicles entirely lacking manual controls, though the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing those long-standing brake pedal requirements for vehicles specifically designed to be autonomously driven. In the interim, NHTSA stated that its investigation will closely examine the process and technical data upon which Tesla relied when self-certifying the Cybercab, along with related safety compliance issues.

The ultimate outcome of this federal investigation could significantly impact whether Tesla, or any third-party buyer, can legally operate the Cybercab on public roads.