AUSTIN, Texas — Tesla has pushed a Robotaxi app update that hands riders something they have never had before: a choice of which self-driving vehicle picks them up. The refreshed ride-ordering screen now shows two options side by side, letting passengers toggle between a gold two-seat Cybercab and a standard four-seat Model Y before they confirm a trip.
The change, which surfaced in App Store listings and in-app screens the same week Tesla opened public Cybercab rides in Austin, marks the moment Tesla's robotaxi service graduated from a single-vehicle pilot to a genuine mixed fleet. Tesla's updated app description calls Cybercab "our first purpose-built autonomous vehicle," designed for safety, accessibility and comfort, and available exclusively through the Robotaxi app.
A Choice Built Around The Trip
The distinction is more than cosmetic. Most ride-hail trips carry one or two people, and that is exactly where the compact Cybercab is meant to shine, offering a cheaper, more efficient ride for solo travelers and pairs. Groups of three or four, or anyone hauling extra gear, can still summon a Model Y with room to spare.
Cybercab brings a purpose-built design to the network: no steering wheel or pedals, butterfly doors, a low seat height meant to work with wheelchairs, extra trunk space for assistive devices, and braille on the handles. The same app handles booking, payment, cabin settings and, on Cybercab, phone-based door opening and in-cabin voice controls.
Smarter Pickups And In-Cabin Control
The update also refines the pickup experience. When a booked vehicle arrives, the app switches to a dedicated "Enter" screen with directional arrows and distance tracking. Cybercab takes it further with a color-matched light bar: the car glows a unique color and the rider's phone screen matches it, making it easy to spot the right vehicle on a busy street. Riders can honk, flash the headlights, or pop the doors and trunk straight from their phone.
Once inside, the app becomes a passenger command center with a live route card, hands-free "Hey Grok" voice interaction, streaming media search, and adjustable ambient cabin lighting. Tesla also updated its terms to note that minors under 13 are not permitted in a Cybercab, versus eight for a Model Y robotaxi.
Austin First, More To Come
For now, Cybercab booking is centered on Austin, where Tesla has registered dozens of the two-seaters with Texas regulators. The purpose-built fleet remains small next to the existing Model Y roster, but the app's new dual-vehicle logic is built to scale as more Cybercabs roll off the line and additional cities come online.
The vehicle choice arrives alongside other rapid-fire improvements to the network, including Tesla's plan to move toward around-the-clock robotaxi operation in the coming weeks. Together, the updates point to a service maturing quickly, giving riders more control while Tesla optimizes each trip for cost and capacity. As first reported by Teslarati, the new "dilemma" facing riders — Cybercab or Model Y — is the kind of problem that only exists once autonomy is real, at scale, and ready to ride.
