Tesla Cybercab appears to include hidden touchscreen control for manual driving

Tesla’s Cybercab, the company’s purpose-built robotaxi, appears to include a hidden manual-driving interface on its center touchscreen, even though the vehicle is designed without a steering wheel or pedals. A rider reportedly saw a virtual joystick displayed on the screen, raising fresh questions about how Tesla plans to handle edge cases, service situations or other nonstandard operating conditions.

The Cybercab is being presented as a fully autonomous two-seater for Tesla’s Robotaxi service, and Tesla’s own materials say it is designed for full autonomy without a steering wheel or pedals. The rider guide also shows that the vehicle relies on a large touchscreen for passenger functions such as opening doors, adjusting seats, controlling climate and starting a ride.

Tesla published its Cybercab Rider Guide on September 4, 2026, and the company’s support pages describe the vehicle as part of its Robotaxi fleet. Those pages do not mention a finger-controlled joystick or any other manual driving mode for passengers, instead emphasizing that riders must remain seated and buckled in while the vehicle operates itself.

What Tesla’s public materials do — and do not — say

The discrepancy highlights a gap between Tesla’s public marketing and what a rider appears to have found inside the vehicle. Tesla’s official documentation confirms that the Cybercab’s touchscreen is central to the rider experience, but the company has not publicly explained whether the manual interface is intended for factory testing, staff use, emergency backup, or another purpose.

Tesla has long used touchscreens for vehicle controls in its consumer cars, but the Cybercab pushes that idea further by removing traditional driving hardware altogether. If the hidden interface is real and functional, it suggests the vehicle may still retain a contingency path for direct control, even if that capability is not part of the normal passenger experience.

For now, the manual mode remains an unresolved detail of Tesla’s robotaxi rollout. The company’s official guidance continues to frame Cybercab as an autonomous ride-hailing vehicle, while the reported touchscreen joystick points to additional functionality that has not yet been publicly documented.