Tesla's Robotaxi app update 26.11.0 shows Cybercab and Model Y fares, pickup times and availability on one screen. Here's how to choose, where Cybercabs run, and what Musk's 40 kWh Liquid Silver Cybercab means.
Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Booking a Tesla Robotaxi in Austin used to involve a small gamble. Pick the Cybercab and you might wait an hour. Pick the Model Y and you might pay more than you had to. Tesla's latest Robotaxi app update takes most of the guesswork out: it now puts the Cybercab and the Model Y side by side, with the fare, estimated arrival time and availability for each, before you tap "book."
The update landed the same weekend Elon Musk promised a cheaper, more efficient Cybercab with a smaller 40 kWh battery and a new "Liquid Silver" paint option. Here's what changed in the app, how to decide between the two vehicles, and what the Cybercab improvements actually are.
Version 26.11.0 of the Robotaxi app adds a vehicle-selection screen that shows, for both the Cybercab and the Model Y:
The new screen was first shown in a video posted on X by rider @gheeunit on November 7, who wrote that the app "shows you the fare for both simultaneously!" Teslarati reported the update the same day. Tesla has not published official release notes for 26.11.0, and despite some headlines, the app does not appear to recommend one vehicle over the other. It gives you the numbers and lets you choose.
That matters because, until now, riders learned the pickup time only after committing to a vehicle. When Tesla first added the Cybercab option in early September, the screen listed little more than the two vehicles and their seat counts.
Early rider reports show why the side-by-side view is useful. Prices and waits have swung widely depending on demand:
| Date (Austin, same route) | Cybercab | Model Y Robotaxi |
|---|---|---|
| Launch week (Sept. 4) | $7.77 | $12.10 |
| First weekend (Sept. 7) | $15.24, about 1-hour wait | $12.04, about 14-minute wait |
Those figures come from rider screenshots reported by Not a Tesla App and Tesla Oracle, not from official Tesla price lists. The pattern is clear, though: on launch week the Cybercab was roughly 35% cheaper, and a few days later curiosity-driven demand made it the pricier, slower option.
With fares and wait times now on one screen, the decision is simpler:
Right now, the Cybercab-versus-Model Y choice is an Austin feature. Paid public Cybercab rides began there in early September, across Tesla's full Austin Robotaxi service area. Tesla has also extended Austin service hours to run from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
In Tesla's other Robotaxi markets, including Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and Florida, riders are still matched with Model Y vehicles. Tesla said on its third-quarter earnings call that Cybercab rides would launch in Dallas in November. As of November 7, Teslarati reported that Dallas riders were still being matched with Model Ys. We covered the Dallas plan in detail in Tesla Cybercab Is Coming to Dallas, and Fort Worth's Model Y service in our Fort Worth launch guide.
The fleet has grown fast. Tesla started public rides with about 45 Cybercabs registered in Texas, according to Teslarati. By October 28, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles registry for automated vehicles listed 1,080 Tesla robotaxis, including 573 Cybercabs, meaning Cybercabs now outnumber Model Ys on the list, Drive Tesla Canada reported.
Read the fleet numbers carefully
A vehicle on the state registry is not necessarily carrying riders. Tesla has said Cybercab production is running ahead of Robotaxi deployments, and the registry counts vehicles authorized to operate, not vehicles on the road at any given hour. The real number giving rides in Austin is lower.
The "massive improvements" came from Musk himself, in a post on X on Saturday, November 7. He made two specific claims:
Musk gave no date for either change. Tesla has not said whether the 40 kWh pack will use different cells. A Munro Live factory tour reported by Drive Tesla Canada in late October showed that the current pack, built from Tesla's 4680 cells, was designed with room to take cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells later. That is a possible path, not a confirmed plan.
The same post addressed factory space. A day earlier, Musk said Tesla would end Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas by mid-2027 to make room for more Cybercab output. "We can't use those people or factory space and machinery for scaling Cybercab," he wrote. We covered that decision in Tesla Cybertruck production ends in 2027.
Quick facts: Cybercab today
"There are efficiency improvements coming that will allow for a 40kWh Cybercab pack."
Elon Musk, on X, November 7, 2026The bottom line: Tesla's Robotaxi app now shows Cybercab and Model Y fares, pickup times and availability on one screen, which ends the blind choice Austin riders have faced since September. For one or two people with light bags, pick whichever is cheaper or closer. For three or more riders, or real luggage, take the Model Y. The 40 kWh pack and Liquid Silver paint are promises from Musk with no date attached, and Cybercab rides outside Austin, starting with Dallas, are still pending.
Related: Tesla Cybercab Is Coming to Dallas · Tesla Robotaxi launches in Fort Worth · Cybertruck production ends in 2027
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