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Tesla's Cybercabs are cruising New York City’s streets, seemingly trying to outrace regulators while ignoring questions about plans for the company’s autonomous taxi service.

More and more New Yorkers have spotted the sand-gold vehicles — which have self-driving capabilities — around Manhattan and Brooklyn in recent weeks. The service officially launched in Texas, California and Florida, offering commuters driverless taxi rides in cars without steering wheels, manual brakes or side-view mirrors. In New York, Tesla is simply testing the cars’ "supervised" self-driving feature, with a steering wheel and person sitting in the driver’s seat, according to the city transportation department.

After Gothamist first published a story on the new Tesla cabs, transportation department spokesperson Vincent Barone emphasized that the company isn't testing an "autonomous" system and therefore doesn't need a permit.

"New York State and New York City DOT closely regulate the testing of [autonomous vehicle] technology and any company that would be interested in testing such technology on city streets would be required to gain city and state approval," Barone said in a statement.

The Cybercabs’ sudden appearance contrasts with the extensive approval process Waymo underwent to test its own self-driving cars on city streets earlier last year. The white cars, which are owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, were given a permit by both the city and state DOT to test their self-driving feature with a driver behind the steering wheel at all times.

Barone drew a distinction between Tesla’s supervised “advanced driver assistance system” and an autonomous driving system. He said that Tesla is testing "Level 2" automation, compared to Waymo's "Level 4." The difference, according to the DOT, is that a human has to be paying attention at all times and be ready to take over driving the Tesla, while a Waymo is capable of fully performing the task of driving by itself.

That distinction allows the Cybercabs to bypass significant regulatory hurdles. Tesla’s deployment of the odd-looking cars took the city transportation department by surprise.

Transportation department officials first reached out to Tesla after spotting the cars on the road, instead of the electric car company approaching city government first, according to a transportation department official.

The Cybercabs’ arrival — at this point in seemingly small numbers — conjures memories of when Uber forced its way into the New York City market more than a decade ago.

In the early 2010s, Uber also took advantage of a loophole that allowed it to compete with yellow taxis by registering tens of thousands of for-hire vehicles through the city’s black car licensing system. When lawmakers in 2015 considered limiting the number of Ubers allowed in the city, the company launched a “de Blasio Mode” on its app, which warned riders that they would have to wait 25 minutes for a ride if the regulations passed. The City Council never passed the measure, and the number of Ubers on the streets swelled to more than 80,000.

Bruce Schaller, a transportation analyst who studied Uber’s rise in the five boroughs, said Tesla may be following the ride-share giant’s playbook.

"What Tesla may be trying to do, if you look at the Uber experience, you could speculate is that they're trying to build a constituency for the service with which to try and overwhelm the regulators," Schaller said. "But we'll have to see if that's the case or not."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a Republican megadonor who boasted of spending a weekend last year “feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” has a well-established reputation for ignoring regulators. Matthew Wansley, a professor who specializes in AI and autonomous vehicles at Cardozo School of Law, said Tesla has "deliberately confused the market."

"[Tesla is] creating an illusion that they have an automated driving system for the stock market, but the technology is not there yet," Wansley said, who added that Waymo has developed such systems.

Waymo’s experience in New York could present another cautionary tale for Tesla.

Waymo said it drove thousands of autonomous miles under a DOT permit. The company submitted 10 reports and met with the transportation department more than 20 times.

Nevertheless, Gov. Kathy Hochul withdrew her support for a bill that would've allowed Waymo to launch outside city limits.

“We are proud to be the first and only company to earn an autonomous testing permit from New York City's Department of Transportation, and to partner closely with the agency throughout that testing period. The entry of more operators underscores the need for a rigorous framework,” Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said in a statement.

Tesla ignored multiple requests for comment. This Gothamist reporter visited a Tesla showroom in Gowanus and was told by management that the company doesn't respond to press requests and instead relies on the public to form their opinions about Tesla for themselves.

Tesla is not yet offering its robotaxi service to consumers in New York. But job listings posted by the company show it's actively hiring "AI safety operators" and "data collection supervisors" for self-driving cars, based in Flushing, Queens, and in Buffalo. The job pays between $25 and $30 an hour.

NYC transportation news this week

Mayor Mamdani calls for a crackdown on NYC's worst drivers. After a series of fatal hit-and-run crashes over the summer, Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for the creation of “pedestrian-only” districts and a crackdown on reckless and impaired drivers as part of his administration’s first citywide plan to reduce traffic deaths. The plan lays out priorities for the next decade to advance the city’s Vision Zero initiative, established in 2014 to improve street safety and eliminate traffic deaths. The plan also calls for the creation of a mobile wallet that allows low-income New Yorkers to access discounted rides on subways, ferries, Citi Bike and e-scooters, which each have separate payment systems.

Subway cars need a bath. Trains on the E, F, L, M and R lines are all running with dirty exteriors while the MTA repairs the subway car washers at two of its depots, the agency confirmed.

Picture it: A leafy walkway and two-way bike lane on Park Avenue. The city transportation department unveiled an updated vision for Park Avenue that would remove more traffic lanes for cars than previously planned and separate cyclists from pedestrians.

Sprucing up bus stops. The city is testing out a green roof on a bus shelter in Brownsville, Brooklyn, which officials say can absorb 16 gallons of rainwater to reduce flooding during heavy rainstorms and could also keep riders cool on hot days.

Chaos erupts during morning rush hour at Grand Central. Police said a woman experienced a mental crisis and threatened other passengers on a rush-hour Metro-North train headed into Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday morning, shouting to other riders that “this will be your last day on earth.”

Ramping up EV charging points. Brooklyn-based company it’s electric will expand the city's curbside electric vehicle charging network, increasing to 700 charging points from the current 88.

Curious Commuter

Have a question for us? Use this form to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!

Question from Mai in Queens

“Why are there always advertisements/subway wraps on the 7 train? The US Open one makes sense to me because that's where the stadium is, but I just saw a wrap for a hotel group that I haven't seen on other trains. Why do 7 line residents have to be subjected to this?”

Answer

The 7 train is often chosen for these subway car wraps because it is the line that takes people to the U.S. Open and Mets games. Companies sell ads tied to those sports events. It’s also mostly an outdoor and elevated line, so it gets more eyeballs than other lines, making it attractive for advertisers. But other lines get wrapped, too. The Times Square Shuttle is the only train that gets wrapped on the inside and outside. During the World Cup, the host committee paid to wrap the 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, A, E, F and R trains. Advertisers can request wraps on any line. ESPN did the E train, for example. The MTA made $180 million in ad revenue last year, mostly through advertisements on the subways. The money goes toward funding the whole operation and making improvements.