Tesla opens Cybercab pre-orders to select buyers with $299 monthly fee and Texas-only delivery

Tesla opens Cybercab pre-orders to select customers

Tesla told a group of chosen customers on Friday evening that they can now pre-order the Cybercab, its autonomous electric vehicle, for personal use, according to TechCrunch. The move is notable because it is the first time the Cybercab has been offered to consumers rather than operated solely as part of Tesla's own robotaxi fleet. The order page lists December 2026 as the estimated delivery window.

Texas delivery and geofenced operation

The fine print emerged as invited customers examined the order page. Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee shared that buyers must accept delivery in one of a small number of Texas cities, and that the vehicle will only operate inside specific geofenced areas.

The pricing works on two layers. The car itself carries a $29,990 price tag, and owners must also pay $299 every month to keep the vehicle operational, TechCrunch reports.

Musk calls the monthly fee too high

Tesla's own leadership has already pushed back on parts of the offer. Replying to Brownlee's post, CEO Elon Musk wrote that the Cybercab "will be available nationwide, as we receive regulatory approval." He also described the monthly fee as "too high," arguing it should match what owners of other Tesla models pay for the Full Self-Driving package plus connectivity, which he estimated at roughly $115 per month.

Tesla's Ashok Elluswamy offered more detail on the geographic limits, saying the Cybercab will operate "unsupervised inside all the same geo locations as @robotaxi, just serving the owners' needs." In practice, that means a privately owned Cybercab inherits the same operational boundaries as Tesla's commercial robotaxi service rather than driving wherever its owner wants.

Cybertruck capacity redirected to Cybercab

The consumer launch arrives alongside a manufacturing shift. According to TechCrunch, Tesla plans to end Cybertruck production next year after sales of that model fell far short of projections, and will use the freed-up factory capacity to build more Cybercabs instead.

Why it matters

This is the first real test of whether people will buy a fully autonomous vehicle as a personal product rather than summon one by the trip, and several tensions in the offer stand out.

The ownership model is unusual: buyers pay $29,990 up front and then, under the current terms, a $299 monthly fee indefinitely just to use the vehicle they own. Musk's own comment that the price is too high suggests the figure may not survive to a wider release, and at roughly $115 per month, as he proposed, the economics of ownership change considerably.

There is also a stark gap between promise and product. Musk is talking about nationwide availability, but the first customers can only take delivery in a handful of Texas cities and will be confined to geofenced zones matching Tesla's existing robotaxi areas. That gap is a reminder that regulators, not ambition, set the pace for autonomous vehicle deployment.

Finally, the move signals where Tesla sees its future. Winding down the Cybertruck to build more Cybercabs is a concrete bet that autonomy, not pickup trucks, is the growth business. Putting a robotaxi in consumer hands, even in a limited and geofenced form, is the clearest expression of that bet so far.