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Tesla’s Cybercab Fleet Expands Tenfold in Just a Month, Elon Musk Says Driverless Mileage Is Growing ‘Like a Rocket Going to Orbit’

Benzinga·10/22/2026 05:48:04

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk touted explosive growth in the company’s autonomous driving operations, saying its Cybercab fleet in Austin expanded tenfold within roughly a month as weekly driverless mileage climbed at an extraordinary pace.

Tesla Reports Rapid Growth In Autonomous Miles

"The Cybercab fleet in Austin, for example, has grown by a factor of 10 since launch about a month ago," Musk said Wednesday during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call. "The cumulative mileage is really—when I look at the weekly chart—it’s wow. I mean, it looks like a rocket going to orbit, basically," he added.

Musk said Tesla’s autonomous mileage was scaling rapidly, pointing to what he described as an extraordinary acceleration in weekly cumulative miles. Tesla’s third-quarter shareholder update reported an eightfold quarterly increase in cumulative unsupervised Robotaxi miles, driven by double-digit weekly growth.

The figures follow Tesla’s earlier announcement that more than 300 Cybercabs were operating in Austin, representing an eightfold fleet expansion over 30 days.

Tesla Targets Wider Cybercab Rollout Across Cities

Tesla launched paid Cybercab rides in Austin on Sept. 3, deploying purpose-built autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or pedals. Vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy said Tesla aims to begin selling Cybercabs to customers before year-end.

Reuters reported Thursday that Tesla plans to expand Cybercab operations to Dallas next month, with additional markets under consideration. Tesla executives also outlined plans to expand autonomous capabilities across existing vehicles, although broader deployment depends on software readiness and operational safeguards.

Federal Safety Scrutiny Shadows Tesla’s Expansion

The rapid rollout comes as federal regulators examine Cybercab’s compliance with vehicle safety standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an Audit Query into Tesla’s self-certification of the Cybercab, which lacks conventional driving controls.

Regulators also recently evaluated allegations of Robotaxi speeding in school zones. Reuters previously reported that Tesla’s autonomous rollout lagged Musk’s earlier projections, highlighting the challenge of converting fleet growth into a scalable commercial business.

Price Action: TSLA shares fell 3.32% to $373.65 during overnight trading on Wednesday.

Benzinga Edge Rankings show Tesla stock offers a poor Value and Momentum score but an average Growth and Quality score.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock