Tesla tips FSD V15 release date to turn customer Model Y into paid robotaxi

During the latest earnings call, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Director of AI, confirmed that the robotaxi self-driving powering the Cybercab and the Model Y robotaxis is, essentially, identical. What's more, all current Model Y owners in the US will be getting it soon through the FSD V15 release.

That is a bigger deal than it might sound. Until now, unsupervised driving has been something Tesla keeps for its own fleet. Handing the same stack to customers means a privately owned Model Y could, in theory, drive itself without anyone supervising.

Tesla FSD V15 release date

The catch, as Elluswamy explained, is that customer cars must first be folded into Tesla’s fleet management tools and the geofenced areas in Austin and other cities where Tesla's Robotaxi service exists before they can operate fully autonomously. Tesla expects to switch on the first customer vehicles for the Robotaxi fleet around Q2 next year.

Meanwhile, the pedal-less Cybercab is on a different path, as Lars Moravy, Tesla's Vice President of Manufacturing, said that the team wants to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of 2026. For now, every unit rolling off the Texas line goes straight into the EV maker’s own Robotaxi fleet. Tesla plans to start small, learn how delivery, ownership, and fleet management work in customer hands, and then scale up.

Elon Musk added some context that tempers expectations. The Cybercab will mostly stay a Tesla-owned transport service, not something you park in your driveway. The Model 3, Model Y, and Roadster 2 remain the cars Tesla expects people to actually own.

These latest comments make the Robotaxi fleet expansion plans rather clear. Cybercab will become the dedicated ride-hailing workhorse produced in mass quantities, while the Model Y and its buyers get a side hustle. If Tesla delivers, owners could earn money while their car works and they sleep or sit at the office. Whether regulators, insurers, and everyday owners are ready for that is another matter, so Tesla seems to be taking it slow to ensure everyone is on board next June.

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Daniel Zlatev - Senior Tech Writer - 2272 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021

Wooed by tech since the industrial espionage of Apple computers and the times of pixelized Nintendos, Daniel went and opened a gaming club when personal computers and consoles were still an expensive rarity. Nowadays, fascination is not with specs and speed but rather the lifestyle that computers in our pocket, house, and car have shoehorned us in, from the infinite scroll and the privacy hazards to authenticating every bit and move of our existence.