Tesla’s “No Steering Wheel” dream hits a roadblock in Texas

New photos from the streets of Austin, Texas, are making people question Tesla's future. For a long time, Elon Musk has talked about the Cybercab. He promised this vehicle would be a robot on wheels. According to him, it would not have a steering wheel, pedals, or even mirrors. But recent sightings of the car testing on public roads show something very different. These prototypes have steering wheels, and they look a lot like the cars we drive today.

A Reddit user recently spotted two of these Cybercab prototypes driving together on South Lamar. This is a busy area in Austin, not far from where Tesla builds many of its cars. The photos clearly show a steering wheel inside the cabin, and while this might seem like a small detail, it is a huge deal for Tesla. The company wants these EVs to be the first truly self-driving taxis. If the cars still need a wheel, it suggests that the technology is not quite as ready as Musk says it is.

Cybercab spotted in south lamar
byu/serherjim inteslamotors

To be fair, there is a simple reason why these test cars have wheels. Right now, the law says that cars testing on public streets must have a way for a human to take control. If the computer makes a mistake, a safety driver needs to grab the wheel and stop the car. Even if Tesla wants the final version to be empty of controls, they cannot legally test it that way yet. This is standard for almost every company making self-driving electric cars.

The real problem is the timeline. Tesla says they want to start making the Cybercab later in 2026 - literally months away. But Tesla's FSD software still needs a human to watch it. Currently, drivers must stay alert and keep their hands near the wheel because the system can still make errors. To remove the steering wheel entirely, the software has to be perfect. It must be able to handle every possible situation without any help from a person. Tesla has been promising this "unsupervised" driving for many years, but it always seems to be "one year away."

Two Tesla Cybercabs spotted testing together again today in downtown Austin, Texas.

(video taken by a follower of mine) pic.twitter.com/ILcdeBuAwW

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 28, 2025

There is also a big issue with the computer "brains" inside these cars. Tesla is currently using a chip called AI4 in its vehicles. The Cybercab's software is supposed to be running on a much more powerful chip called AI5, but that chip will not be ready until the middle of 2027. If the Cybercab launches in 2026, it will have to use the older AI4 hardware. If millions of Model 3 and Model Y cars on the road today still cannot drive themselves without supervision using AI4, it is hard to see how the Cybercab will do it any better by next year.

The government also has very strict rules about cars without steering wheels. If a company wants to build a car with no manual controls, it can usually only make a few thousand of them. Tesla wants to build millions of Cybercabs to make them affordable. To reach that high volume, they might have to follow the standard rules. This means the car would need a steering wheel and pedals to be legal for most people to buy and use.

Two Tesla Cybercabs out testing in Austin, TX again today.

The roads are changing forever. pic.twitter.com/oVSYnkOqQZ

— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) December 28, 2025

This makes it look like Tesla has a "Plan B." Instead of a futuristic robot taxi, the Cybercab might just be a cheaper, smaller electric car for regular drivers. It could launch with a steering wheel so people can drive it themselves while they wait for the software to improve. This would be very similar to how Tesla sold its other cars. They sold the hardware first and promised that the software would get better over time. It is a smart business move, but it is not exactly the "no wheel" revolution that Musk promised at his big Hollywood event.

In the end, the sighting in Austin shows that reality is a bit more complicated than a flashy presentation. Between the laws, the hardware limits, and the software bugs, Tesla still has a lot of work left to do. For now, it looks like the dream of a car without a steering wheel might stay a dream for a while. If you see a Cybercab on the road soon, do not be surprised if there is a person sitting in the front seat with their hands on a very normal-looking wheel.

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