Tesla disclosed Saturday that pre-orders for its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi vehicle have surpassed 1.4 million units in the 48 hours since Friday's reservations launch, generating $700 million in deposits at $500 per vehicle. The two-seat, steering-wheel-free vehicle priced at $26,990 will begin deliveries to fleet operators in November, with retail customer deliveries beginning in early 2027.
The pre-order frenzy coincides with Sunday's planned commercial launch of Tesla's Robotaxi network in 12 U.S. cities, expanding from the seven-city pilot that began earlier this month. Austin, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Denver and Chicago will each begin offering driverless rides through the Tesla app starting at noon local time Sunday.
Musk's One-Million-Vehicle Pledge
Chief Executive Elon Musk repeated on his X account Saturday that he expects "more than one million Tesla vehicles operating fully autonomously by the end of Q3," combining Cybercab fleet deployments with software-enabled Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck conversions through over-the-air upgrades to the FSD v14.2 stack scheduled for June.
Wall Street has begun to incorporate higher robotaxi revenue estimates into Tesla's earnings models. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives raised his Tesla price target to $585 from $515, citing what he called "the iPhone moment for autonomous transportation" and forecast incremental annual robotaxi revenue of $48 billion by 2028 at a 78% gross margin. Morgan Stanley lifted its bull case to $720, citing similar dynamics.
Competitive Pressure and Regulation
For competitors, Tesla's accelerating timeline complicates strategic planning. Waymo has approximately 4,400 vehicles operating in seven markets, a number Musk's pledge would multiply more than 200 times within five months. Cruise, owned by General Motors, suspended its commercial fleet last month after a $94 million quarterly loss; analysts now question whether GM will commit further capital to a service that lags so dramatically.
Regulators are accelerating their response. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed Friday that it has opened a new pre-deployment review of Tesla's Cybercab to validate Tier 4 autonomous compliance and that the agency has hired 140 additional engineers focused on driverless vehicle oversight. Tesla shares closed Friday at $384, up 14.2% on the week and within 4% of the all-time high set in November 2024.