Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is reportedly preparing to launch its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi in Austin, Texas, potentially as soon as this month. Reuters reported on Monday that the company has informed employees it could begin rolling out the vehicles by first offering rides on public roads. The company may add the vehicles to its robotaxi service in Austin just days later.

Testing and Deployment Stages

Tesla has been preparing for the launch through several stages of testing. The company conducted test drives, provided employees with rides on private roads, and trained local first responders ahead of the potential deployment. Tesla began testing the production version of the Cybercab on public roads in June. Production is expected to increase later this year.

The Cybercab is designed specifically for autonomous driving and does not have conventional driving controls such as a steering wheel or pedals. However, Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm said last year that the automaker remains open to equipping the Cybercab with traditional vehicle controls.

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Tesla CFO Vaibhan Taneja said, "We’ve started doing Cybercab rides in our factory in Austin."

Competitive Landscape

A commercial Cybercab rollout would represent an important test of Tesla’s autonomous-driving ambitions. Elon Musk has repeatedly promoted robotaxis as a potential major growth opportunity for the electric vehicle maker.

Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Waymo last week said it has secured California approval to significantly expand its driverless ride-hailing operations. This allows the company to scale across the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles while entering Sacramento and San Diego. Waymo now provides more than 500,000 fully autonomous electric rides each week and has logged more than 220 million rider-only autonomous miles.

In June, JPMorgan noted that Waymo has 640 autonomous vehicles registered in Texas, compared with 84 for Tesla, despite Tesla expanding its robotaxi operations beyond Austin to Dallas and Houston this year. The firm said the disparity may reflect Tesla’s deliberate focus on software development and readiness rather than rapid expansion of its autonomous fleet.

What the Numbers Show

The data highlights a strategic divergence between Tesla and Waymo regarding fleet deployment versus software readiness. While Waymo operates a significantly larger registered fleet in Texas (640 vehicles vs 84 for Tesla), JPMorgan attributes this gap to Tesla’s deliberate focus on software development. This suggests Tesla prioritizes operational readiness and software maturity over rapid fleet scaling in its current autonomous strategy.

Market Reaction

Tesla closed at $339.30, down 0.87% on Monday. The shares were up 0.16% to $339.84 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Edge ranks Tesla stock in the 55th percentile for Quality, with its short-, medium- and long-term price trends all remaining negative.

Former Top Gear and The Grand Tour host James May has publicly criticized Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Grok-powered voice assistant, describing the AI's attempts to sound human as insincere and phony. In a video shared on his YouTube channel James May's Planet Gin on Sunday, May tested the assistant, which had assumed the Ara personality, inside a Model 3.

Testing the Ara Persona

May engaged in a conversation with the voice assistant to test several features. These included playing a children's trivia game, sarcastically seeking extreme medical advice, and asking the assistant to switch to a British accent. Tesla offers multiple personas for its voice assistant, including Ara, an upbeat female voice; Eve, a soothing female voice; Leo, a British male voice; Rex, a calm male voice; and Sal, a smooth male voice.

After the interaction, May stated that the program appeared to have been created by socially awkward people who held a flawed idea of what a charming person would sound like. He remarked that the assistant was slightly odd and did not seem human. May suggested that while the engineers and programmers at X were clever, they might be socially inept, resulting in a voice assistant that came off as insincere.

Tesla AI and Manufacturing Updates

The criticism arrives as Tesla AI Chief Ashok Elluswamy praised the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system following a video of a Tesla avoiding a collision on the freeway. Elluswamy posted on the social media platform X that users can have James Bond as their personal driver.

Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk emphasized the automaker's domestic manufacturing capabilities. He stated that the company's vehicles are produced in the U.S. with 84% American content. This focus on domestic manufacturing follows the reaffirmation of tariffs on the auto industry by the Donald Trump administration.

Market Reaction

TSLA shares rose 0.25% to $343.12 during pre-market trading on Monday.