The Tesla Cybercab has no steering wheel, but it can be controlled via a touchscreen [video]

A certain American internet user with a familiar-sounding surname, Skrzypczak, noticed that a touch “steering wheel” appeared on the screen of his Tesla Cybercab. Judging from where the vehicle was located, it might have been used by a Tesla employee to drive up to a Supercharger, as the Robotaxi has a fast-charging port on the left side, in the rear bumper.

This is our future: a steering wheel substitute on screen

Let’s start with the video:

Weird #cybercab situation! When I got in the vehicle, the display was in a different configuration with a virtual joystick for manual driving! I have a feeling I wasn’t supposed to see this… but I try to manually drive the vehicle anyway! @wholemars @DirtyTesLa @DavidMoss… pic.twitter.com/mQsoDFDbEJ

— Matthew Skrzypczak (@MatthewSkrzypc1) September 7, 2026

The upper part of the panel indicates the need to close the doors, while the buttons on the left are for the brake and horn. In the middle is the actual “steering wheel.” The icons seem obvious, but the button labeled “Hold” isn’t what it seems. The person recording the video tried to move the car by pulling the joystick upward (“Forward”), but nothing happened. There were dirty marks on the screen suggesting someone had just used the controller that way, but it could have been done by a passenger before recording began.

This highly marginalized “steering wheel” suggests that it is indeed not necessary and was left only for emergency use, as the overwhelming majority of drives are handled by FSD (Unsupervised). Tesla has been testing Robotaxi in Austin, Texas, for months, and so far, Cybercab operators have been seen using their fingers to navigate the screen (“steering”) only at Superchargers. Previously, prototypes with actual steering wheels existed, but they appeared to be in a very rough developmental stage (source):

The Cybercab features an electric steering system mounted at the front, right behind the engine. It also has electric brakes. The vehicle’s creators claim they abandoned hydraulics, which helped reduce weight and complexity. In theory, a wireless steering wheel and pedals could be installed in the car, but Tesla firmly rejects this approach. The robotaxi is designed to be an autonomous vehicle controlled by FSD (Unsupervised), meaning it has at least level 4 autonomy.

Editor’s note: We’re not sure whether to classify this vehicle under “Cars” or “Transportation”…

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