Tesla has officially begun continuous production of the Cybercab, its autonomous robotaxi, at the Austin, Texas Gigafactory. The milestone was announced via social media with footage showing a steering-wheel-less vehicle exiting the factory, described as being purpose-built for autonomy. While initial prototypes were produced in February, mass manufacturing only commenced this month. Despite this operational step forward, CEO Elon Musk adopted an unusually cautious tone regarding the project's expansion, signaling a shift from his historically optimistic predictions. During a recent earnings call, Musk emphasized that the primary bottleneck for scaling the Robotaxi service is rigorous safety validation rather than manufacturing capacity. He stated that the company aims to avoid any accidental injuries during the rollout, asserting that the team has maintained a perfect safety record to date. This claim, however, contrasts with federal data indicating that Tesla has reported at least 14 crash incidents involving its robotaxis since the service began in Austin a year ago. Unlike other operators, Tesla typically redacts details regarding the nature of these crashes and potential injuries. Musk acknowledged that production ramping will be slow until the end of the year due to the complexity of establishing new supply chains. He described the growth curve as stretched initially, predicting an exponential increase in production later in the year and into next year. This cautious outlook stands in stark contrast to his previous assertions that 50% of the US population would have access to Robotaxi service by the end of 2025. Currently, the service operates in only a few cities, including Austin, Dallas, and Houston, with limited availability. Significant regulatory hurdles remain for the Cybercab. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards generally require traditional controls such as steering wheels and pedals. Although the government allows a cap of 2,500 exempt vehicles for purpose-built autonomous designs, legislation to lift this restriction has stalled. Tesla has not requested an exemption cap, leading Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy to respond that the Cybercab's production is not subject to the limit. This implies the company is self-certifying its compliance with existing safety standards, a strategy similar to that used by Amazon's Zoox, which was previously under investigation. Furthermore, the technology required for fully unsupervised driving remains a challenge. Musk admitted that millions of existing Tesla vehicles equipped with Hardware 3 computers, sold between 2019 and 2023, would likely require serious retrofits to achieve unsupervised capabilities, contradicting earlier commitments. While he promised that Version 15 of the Full Self-Driving software, featuring a complete architectural overhaul, would arrive by the end of the year or early next year, he tempered revenue expectations. Musk noted that unsupervised driving revenue is unlikely to be significant this year but expects it to become a material part of the business next year. The company continues to balance the promise of its autonomous future with the practical realities of safety validation, regulatory frameworks, and technological limitations.