No steering wheel isn't the highlight; lack of human backup is

Just saw the news about Cybercab launching in Austin: no steering wheel, no pedals, no traditional mirrors, two seats, running entirely on software. I’ve been testing FSD and Robotaxi for three weeks, and from a deployment perspective, the real challenge isn’t removing the steering wheel—it’s who backs you up after it’s gone.

Austin registered 186 modified Model Ys for Robotaxi service, but estimates vary widely on how many are truly operating unmanned.

Cars coming off the line and routes being mapped doesn’t mean scaling. Rumors suggest that when engineering vehicles removed steering wheels, California regulators required emergency human intervention, forcing the project team to hastily add backup measures. Regulations don’t care how minimalist the design is; they care if it can stop when things go wrong, if humans can take over, and if liability is clearly defined.

Cybercab feels like betting everything on software: build the hardware first, leave capability to version iterations. I don’t think this is vaporware, but you can’t just look at the launch event. With displays in Beijing and Shanghai mid-September, everyone will touch the exterior and talk about the two-seater layout; what matters more is whether it can enter local testing and secure permits for operation without safety drivers.

So the judgment is simple: Cybercab’s barrier isn’t in the factory, it’s in regulation and operations.

Leaving the question here: If deployed in this form, which domestic regulation will open the door for it first?