Elon Musk has confirmed that production of Tesla's fully autonomous "Cybercab" has officially commenced, with full assembly-line production targeted for April 2026. The announcement, made by Musk on X, sent Tesla stock (TSLA) up approximately 0.5% to $412.51 in early Wednesday trading on February 19, 2026, later reaching $416.46. Barclays analyst Dan Levy noted the initial production run is likely for testing and validation but called the news "supportive of the April timeline."
The Cybercab, unveiled at Tesla's "We, Robot" event in October 2024, is a two-seat vehicle built without a steering wheel or pedals, designed exclusively for Tesla's Robotaxi network. Owners will be able to purchase the vehicle and enroll it in a revenue-sharing program, similar to an Airbnb model for autonomous transport. Musk acknowledged on the Q4 earnings call that the vehicle's name may change for certain markets due to legal restrictions on the words "cab" or "taxi."
In parallel news, Tesla has strategically reduced prices for its Cybertruck lineup in the U.S. to broaden its market appeal. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant now starts at $59,990, the most affordable price point yet for the electric pickup. The high-end Cyberbeast model has been reduced from $114,990 to $99,990. This price adjustment coincides with the removal of the "Luxe Package," which previously bundled features like supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) and complimentary Supercharger access.
This unbundling strategy allows Tesla to advertise lower entry prices while offering higher-margin software and services as optional add-ons. The price cuts are part of a broader 2026 strategy to stimulate demand ahead of upcoming mass-market vehicle launches and better compete in the electric pickup segment.
On the regulatory front, Tesla recently cleared a significant hurdle. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had moved toward suspending Tesla over its marketing of Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. After Tesla revised its marketing—dropping the "Autopilot" name and adding clearer supervision language for FSD—the DMV stood down, avoiding a suspension that would have impacted Tesla's California operations.
Supporting the push toward autonomy, Tesla reported strong growth in its FSD (Supervised) subscriptions, reaching 1.1 million active subscriptions in Q4 2025, a 38% year-over-year increase. The company's Robotaxi service, launched in Austin in June 2025 using Model Y vehicles, plans to expand to nine cities in the first half of 2026 before the Cybercab joins the fleet.
