Jesus Take The Wheel
Tesla’s love of autonomous driving makes it a leader in the segment; many would even argue that its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is the best in the industry, since others have adapted later. Tesla’s lead in this space is so strong that the automaker has ventured into the Cybercab, a fully self-driving taxi with no physical manual driving hardware like a steering wheel or pedals.
Surprisingly, it has now come out that the Cybercab does, in fact, have manual controls embedded in it.
Virtual Controls
Matthew Skrzypczak posted on X and Instagram about discovering a hidden menu on the display screen that showed a virtual joystick for manual driving inputs. The video shows that, besides the joystick, there’s also a horn button and a call for support. Apparently, after Skrzypczak’s post went viral, more people started reporting the same thing.
The virtual joystick page is also flanked by surround-view cameras, presumably for better visibility should the Cybercab need to be piloted manually. What’s interesting is that Tesla has never mentioned this page in relation to the Cybercab, suggesting it was never meant to be seen by a paying passenger.
Tesla also has a published safety guideline for first responders and passengers that covers passenger conduct, emergency stops, and how emergency crews should approach and secure a stranded vehicle. It does not mention the virtual joystick or how to enable it if needed.
Matthew Skrzypczak/Instagram
Further Probing
While the Cybercab has largely been accepted by regulators, the NHTSA has placed the program under a new probe that looks into how Tesla was able to certify a vehicle with no steering wheel and pedals under current U.S road safety regulations. The current fleet includes over 1,000 Cybercabs, and the program launched in Austin, Texas, just a few days ago.
The accidental discovery of the virtual joystick poses a problem for Tesla; is the feature merely a regulatory safeguard for a “just in case” scenario? If so, why wasn’t it publicly disclosed or included in the safety guidelines? Does this mean the Cybercab isn’t as capable as Tesla claims? Tesla needs to answer so many questions.
Tesla
About the author
Pablo Salapantan
News Editor