Tesla’s China Cybercab Debut, Robotaxi’s High Crash Rates & Cybertruck Recall

Tesla plans to extend the reach of its robotaxis by showcasing its Cybercab at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai (November 5-10), as per Tesla’s VP, Tao Lin. 

It remains unclear if the company plans to deploy its robotaxis in the country, but it already faces heavy competition from Chinese automakers, such as Baidu, Pony AI, and BYD-Uber, who have deployed robotaxis in the country and are making their mark globally. 

It’s not just in foreign markets that Tesla faces the tough task of overcoming rivals—in the United States, Waymo, May Mobility, Zoox, and others have already begun plying their trade across various cities. 

Meanwhile, Tesla had begun testing its robotaxis in Austin, Texas. 

Here, too, the company faced setbacks within the first few days, with sudden braking problems and abruptly stopping. 

That misfortune hasn’t slowed down, but instead, has gotten worse, as its robotaxis keep crashing, as per the latest NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) report. This comes as the vehicles continue to operate with safety monitors seated in the vehicles, who have prevented numerous other crashes. 

In the first month (July) of running its robotaxis, Tesla reported 3 crashes, with a fourth one in September. 

With Tesla covering 250,000 miles since its launch, it means Tesla’s robotaxis crash once every 62,500 miles. In comparison, Waymo’s vehicles crash every 98,600 miles, having covered 125 million miles and incurred 1,267 crashes.

Coming back to the Cybercab, Tesla might consider redesigning its Cybercab to include a steering wheel and pedals, as per Tesla’s chairwoman Robin Denholm, as it looks to curb the unfulfilled promise of fully self-driving vehicles.

“No mirrors, no pedals, no steering wheel. Let me be clear,” said Musk during the design of the Cybercab. “This vehicle must be designed as a clean robotaxi. We’re going to take that risk…But we are not going to design some sort of amphibian frog that’s a halfway car. We are all in on autonomy.”

CEO Elon Musk’s dream of fully self-driving (FSD) vehicles hasn’t eluded just its robotaxis, but also the automaker’s EVs, which were supposed to have been fitted with FSD a long while ago.

Yet, the automaker hasn’t been able to deliver. However, it’s important to note that Tesla doesn’t use LiDAR in its vehicles, but instead opts for a camera approach, which allows it to maintain a sleeker look—at the cost of delivering fully self-driving capabilities.


Last month, Tesla recorded its second-highest monthly total tally of vehicles sold, where it shipped 71,525 vehicles, a figure that follows its record of 74,127 sales.

One of the major contributors to this 2.8% rise in sales in September comes in the form of the U.S. government’s plan to discontinue the $7,500 federal EV tax credit it had granted on the sale of electric vehicles (EVs).

To counter this departing benefit, Tesla decided to launch new and cheaper models—Model 3 And Model Y—which didn’t receive an impressive reaction from investors or buyers, as the new models were just about $5,000 less than the next-level versions.

The problems didn’t stop there.

Tesla already has problems selling its Cybertrucks.

It originally planned for a production capacity of over 250,000 units per year, but has been selling only around 20,000 units per year. To make up for this loss, unsold Cybertrucks were being picked up by Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s other private companies, including SpaceX and xAI.

Now, the company had to recall 6,197 Cybertrucks in the U.S. due to a detached light bar that could fall and pose a road hazard to other vehicles, according to the NHTSA.

Here, the company plans to install an additional mechanical attachment or replace the light bar for free.

Do you think Tesla will be able to catch up in the robotaxi race and compete for top spot in the EV market?

Let us know in the comments below!