Tesla starts selling its Cybercab to people for $29,990, but the car will not move without a $299 monthly fee Tesla can change or cut off

The stories

11 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Tesla starts selling its Cybercab to people for $29,990, but the car will not move without a $299 monthly fee Tesla can change or cut off

   $299

   a month, or the Cybercab will not move

   Tesla can change it with one month's notice [1]

   $47,600

   the car plus 5 years of fees

   before tax, charging and insurance [2]

   278

   Cybercabs already in Tesla's robotaxi fleet

   about 40% of it, a crowd-run tracker counts [2]

   What happened

   • Tesla began taking orders for its Cybercab from invited buyers on Friday, for personal use. [3]
   • The Cybercab is a two-seat car with no steering wheel and no pedals. [5]
   • It costs $29,990, plus a $299 monthly fee that buyers cannot opt out of. [5]
   • Tesla's agreement says: "Your Cybercab will not operate without an active Autonomy Subscription." [1]
   • It can drive only inside Tesla's robotaxi zones, in 8 cities in Texas and Florida. [5]
   • Tesla can change the monthly price with one month's notice. [1]
   • It can also shrink or move the zones where the car may drive, at any time. [1]
   • After 3 warnings for unsafe use, the car is stopped for a week, and that month's fee is not refunded. [1]
   • Owners may not put it on Uber, a delivery app or Tesla's taxi network without Tesla's written permission. [1]
   • A camera watches the cabin, and by default Tesla keeps those images for 30 days. [1]
   • Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's AI chief, said it drives unsupervised inside the same zones as Tesla's robotaxis. [4]
   • Tesla already runs 278 Cybercabs as robotaxis, about 40% of its fleet, a crowd-run tracker counts. [2]
   • Its robotaxis ride in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, and in Miami, Orlando and Tampa. [4]
   • Tesla began robotaxi rides in Austin in June 2025 and removed the safety monitors in January, TechCrunch reports. [6]
   • Elon Musk, Tesla's boss, promised a Cybercab under $30,000 when he showed it in 2024. [5]
   • He did not mention a monthly fee at that event. [2]
   • On Friday Musk called the fee "too high" and said it should be about $115 a month. [3]
   • Tesla will stop making its Cybertruck next year and use the factory space for more Cybercabs. [3]
   • Musk once said 1 million people had reserved a Cybertruck. [7] Experts estimate about 71,000 have been sold since 2023. [7]
   • The only Cybertruck Tesla still sells in the US is its top model, at $109,990. [8]
   • The NHTSA, the US car-safety regulator, is auditing how Tesla certified a car with no wheel or pedals. [4]
   • US safety rules call for controls like a steering wheel and pedals, The Verge notes. [2]
   • Tesla sent its answer on 30 October and asked for all of it to be kept secret. [5]
   • The regulator has not ruled, and Tesla is taking $1,000 deposits that cannot be refunded. [5]
   • Tesla began selling "Full Self-Driving" for its other cars in 2016, for up to $15,000. [1]
   • Those owners must still watch the road, and Tesla now sells it for $99 a month. [1]
   • The Cybercab runs on the same AI4 computer as today's Model Y, Electrek reports. [1]

   Who is involved

   • Ashok Elluswamy Tesla's AI chief; says the car drives itself inside Tesla's robotaxi zones
   • The NHTSA the US car-safety regulator; still auditing how Tesla certified a car with no wheel
   • Tesla the US electric-car maker; sells the Cybercab and sets its monthly fee
   • Elon Musk Tesla's boss; promised the car under $30,000 and now calls the fee too high

   How it unfolded

   1. Day 1 Tesla gives notice
   2. A month on the new price applies
   3. June 2025 robotaxis start in Austin
   4. January safety monitors removed
   5. 2024 Musk shows the Cybercab and promises under $30,000 [5]
   6. Nov 2026 orders open at $29,990
   7. 30 Oct Tesla answers the regulator and asks for secrecy [5]
   8. Dec 2026 first deliveries due
   9. 2016 Tesla starts selling Full Self-Driving for up to $15,000 [1]
   10. 13 Nov orders open for personal use [3]
   11. Dec 2026 first deliveries due in Austin [5]

   Why it matters

   It is the first Tesla sold to people to drive with nobody at the controls, Electrek notes. [1]

   Electrek says the car's usefulness depends on a monthly fee Tesla sets. [1]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      So what does a Cybercab buyer actually own?

      The buyer owns the car, but Tesla holds the fee, the zones and the right to stop it. [1]

   2. 2

      What does that come to over five years?

      Over 5 years the fee adds $17,940, about $47,600 in all, before tax, charging and insurance. [2]

      $29,990The car

      ++

      $17,940Fees over 5 years
   3. 3

      What does the $299 actually pay for?

      The fee covers the driving, upkeep and towing, but not insurance, Tesla says. [2]

      Self-drivingcovered

      ++

      Towingcovered

      ++

      Insurancenot covered
   4. 4

      Is that more than Tesla charges elsewhere?

      It is three times the $99 a month Tesla charges for Full Self-Driving, Electrek notes. [1]

      Cybercab fee$299 a month

      Full Self-Driving fee$99 a month
   5. 5

      Why not switch it on for Model Y owners first?

      Electrek argues that would keep a 2016 promise on cars already paid for, and bring no new fee. [1]

      Switch it on for Model Y owners→A 2016 promise kept→No new monthly fee
   6. 6

      So who pays if it crashes?

      Tesla has not said how blame is split between the owner and Tesla in a crash, The Verge reports. [2]

   7. 7

      So what is really going on?

      Tesla holds the software, the zones and the price, so it sets the terms. [1] The regulator, which has not yet ruled, decides whether it is legal. [2]

      Tesla holdsfee, zones, software

      vsvs

      The regulator holdsthe ruling

   How it works

   Lawyers and economists call the party that can prevent a harm most cheaply the cheapest cost avoider.

   A Cybercab has no manual fallback, so the owner cannot take over. [2] Yet its fee leaves insurance to the owner. [2]

   Seen it before

   When a lift gets stuck, the building that runs it pays for the repair, not the people inside.

   The truth

   • What is really going on Tesla is selling a car that only Tesla's software can drive, and it keeps the price, the zones and the off switch. [1]
   • Why it works on people A price under $30,000 is the number people remember, and the $299 a month arrives in smaller print.
   • In 6 cities, an independent tracker found Tesla serves only 59% to 78% of the zones it advertises. [5] In Austin it is about 59%. [5]
   • Tesla has not said how it picks invited buyers, or how many cars are for private sale. [2]
   • Who gains Tesla — Every Cybercab sold brings $299 a month for as long as it is used, at a price Tesla can change. [1]
   • Who pays Tesla owners who bought Full Self-Driving — They paid up to $15,000 since 2016 and must still watch the road, while the new car drives itself in the same zones. [1]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether a car with no steering wheel or pedals is legal to sell to the public in the US.

     The NHTSA has not ruled, and Tesla asked for its whole answer to be kept secret. [5]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Who pays when a privately owned Cybercab crashes: the owner or Tesla.

     Tesla's fee leaves insurance to the owner, and it has not explained how blame is split. [2]

   What comes next

   Tesla says the first cars reach buyers in Austin in December 2026. [5] The regulator has not yet ruled on the missing wheel. [2]

   Learn the idea behind it

   • Who really owns your Cybercab? Start the 14-minute course →

1. 02

   Bessent says Nvidia must answer for leaked chips

   What happened

   • Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, said on Friday the Nvidia scandal is really about chips reaching China. [10]
   • Nvidia's chips are widely used to build the most advanced AI, and the US limits China's access. [11]
   • Bessent asked on CNBC, a US business channel, whether Nvidia knew "their client". [12]
   • He asked if Nvidia had sold to "obviously pass-through shell companies", firms that only pass goods along. [12]
   • Bessent said four US departments wanted Megaspeed blacklisted for months, but the Commerce Department "has the pen". [10]

   Who is involved

   • Scott Bessent US Treasury secretary

   How it unfolded

   Megaspeed, a Singapore firm, bought more than $4bn of Nvidia chips, The New York Times reported. [10] US agents suspect it sent some to China, which it denies. [10]

   1. Friday Bessent blames Commerce
   2. 10 Dec Lutnick faces senators

   Why it matters

   Bessent wants the story moved from Jensen Huang's private life to Nvidia's checks on its buyers. [10]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Why would Commerce hold back?

      Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly feared a blacklisting could worsen trade tensions with China, Tom's Hardware reports. [9]

      Blacklist Megaspeed→China is angered→Trade talks get harder
   2. 2

      So does he want tougher rules?

      Bessent wants today's rules enforced, not new limits or new powers, Tom's Hardware reports. [9]

      Enforce today's rulesyes

      vsvs

      New limits or powersno
   3. 3

      Will Trump raise it with Xi this week?

      US officials say Trump does not plan to raise Nvidia when he meets Xi Jinping in China. [13]

   How it works

   Compliance officers call it knowing your customer: checking who a buyer really is before you sell.

   Bessent says that check was Nvidia's: whether it knew its client, or sold to companies that only pass chips on. [12]

   Seen it before

   A shop selling fireworks checks the buyer's age at the till, because the till is where the buyer stands.

   Why the law makes whoever can stop a harm most cheaply answer for it

   Lawyers and economists call it the cheapest cost avoider: whoever can prevent a harm for the least money gets the duty to prevent it.

   The twist

   The duty lands on whoever could stop the harm for the least money, even when someone else caused it.

   Step by step

   1. 1 A harm can be stopped at several points
   2. 2 Each point costs a different amount to guard
   3. 3 The law gives the duty to the party that can guard it most cheaply
   4. 4 That party must check, and pays if it fails

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Bessent says Nvidia must answer for leaked chips

     Nvidia sees each buyer before a chip ships, so the US Treasury says the first check was Nvidia's.

   • Malaysia plans a law to track data-centre chips

     Data-centre owners see which chips arrive and how much power they draw, so the law would make them report it.

   • Microsoft owes business users for its outage

     Microsoft runs the servers, so its own agreement makes it give credits when email goes down.

   Where you've seen this

   Banks

   they must check customers for laundered money, because the money passes through them

   Shops selling alcohol

   the till checks the age, because that is where the buyer stands

   Building sites

   the builder fences the hole, not every passer-by

   The catch

   It works only when the chosen party can see the harm. A chip seller cannot see a server that its buyer ships on to someone else.

   And the whole of it

   A Cybercab owner, an Nvidia engineer, a Malaysian data-centre owner and anyone with a work email each stand at one of these points. Most people learn which one only when something breaks.

   The truth

   • What is really going on In the Nvidia scandal, the US Treasury secretary says the question is whether Nvidia checked its buyers, while his own government's Commerce Department held off blacklisting Megaspeed, the buyer, for months. [10]
   • Bessent said: "We do not know for a fact that Jensen Huang knew this." [9]
   • A Commerce spokesperson told Semafor the two departments have "a great working relationship". [10]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many Nvidia chips reached China through companies like Megaspeed.

     Bessent says there is "a lot of leakage" but gave no count, and Megaspeed denies sending chips on. [12][10]

   What comes next

   Lutnick has agreed to answer questions from the US Senate banking committee on 10 December. [13]

1. 03

   Malaysia plans a law to track data-centre chips

   What happened

   • Malaysia plans a law making data-centre owners declare the AI chips they import and the power they use. [14]
   • Owners would also have to name the companies renting space from them. [14]
   • Trade minister Johari Abdul Ghani said some firms rented space to import chips legally, then smuggled them abroad. [14]
   • Malaysia has approved 117 data-centre projects, and 55 of them already run. [14]
   • Owners would also pay for all the power they reserve, used or not. [14] Reserve 100 megawatts and use 50, and the bill is for 100. [14]

   Who is involved

   • Data-centre owners must name their tenants

   Why it matters

   So many data centres make Malaysia an easy place to hide chips bound for China, Tom's Hardware says. [14]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Can power use really count the chips?

      Not exactly: Nvidia's H200 is rated at 700 watts and its B200 at 1,000, yet neither always draws that. [14]

      700 wattsH200 rating

      vsvs

      1,000 wattsB200 rating
   2. 2

      So what would really catch a smuggler?

      Checking the chips in person, or tracking each one, Tom's Hardware says. [14]

      Count the power→Guess the chips→Check them in person

   How it works

   Electricity planners call this a capacity charge: you pay for the power you hold, not only what you use.

   Malaysia wants to stop firms holding power they will not need for 1 to 3 years. [14]

   Seen it before

   A restaurant that charges for a booked table stops people booking tables they never use.

   Data-centre owners see which chips arrive and how much power they draw, so the law would make them report it.

   The idea, in story 02: Why the law makes whoever can stop a harm most cheaply answer for it →

   The truth

   • The minister did not say if owners must list chip serial numbers or face inspections. [14]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Malaysia's law will check chips in person or only count power use.

     The minister has not said whether owners must list serial numbers or face inspections. [14]

2. 04

   Asia weighs life after Huang

   What happened

   • Governments across Asia responded this week to Jensen Huang's exit as Nvidia's boss, TechCrunch reports. [15]
   • South Korea said Nvidia reaffirmed its plan to supply 260,000 advanced chips to the country. [15]
   • Taipei's city government said Nvidia's planned overseas headquarters there is still on track. [15]
   • Japan's industry ministry said it would watch Nvidia closely. [15]
   • In China, more than $3bn of AI projects relying on Nvidia's restricted chips now face doubt, Reuters reported. [15]
   • China's foreign ministry called the spy claim about Alice Huang groundless. [15]

   Who is involved

   • Japan's industry ministry will watch Nvidia closely

   Why it matters

   Many of Nvidia's key partners are in Asia. [15] South Korea's AI council held an emergency meeting on Friday, a local report says. [15]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Why would South Korea worry most?

      Samsung and SK Hynix, South Korea's big chipmakers, supply the memory used in Nvidia's AI chips. [15]

      Samsung and SK Hynix memory→Nvidia's AI chips→South Korea's chip trade
   2. 2

      What links this to the Bessent row?

      Singapore says its inquiry into Megaspeed and 6 other people over server shipments is still open. [15]

      6 of 6

      people still under inquiry

   The truth

   • Singapore said it got limited help from US authorities on Supermicro, a US server maker. [15]
3. 05

   Huang never reached China's chip planners

   What happened

   • Jensen Huang visited China 6 times in 3 years while he ran Nvidia, the Financial Times reported. [16]
   • But Nvidia never got talks with the National Development and Reform Commission, China's state planner. [16]
   • The FT says that planner led China's push to restrict Nvidia chips. [16]
   • His meetings ran through Ren Hongbin, head of China's main trade promotion body. [16]
   • Nvidia had no team for Chinese officials until late 2025, when it hired Tony Jiang from Intel. [16]

   Who is involved

   • Ren Hongbin head of China's trade promotion body

   Why it matters

   George Chen of the Asia Group said: "the fall of Jensen helps to strengthen Huawei's leading position in China." [16]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Why could he not get through?

      China's commerce ministry saw Nvidia chips as a bridge until Huawei caught up. [16] Security officials saw them as a weakness. [16]

      Commerce ministrya bridge

      vsvs

      Security officialsa weakness
   2. 2

      So who gains in China?

      China is pushing home-grown chips, including Huawei's, though analysts say they train AI less efficiently. [11]

      Nvidia chips limited→China backs Huawei→Its chips are less efficient

   How it works

   Political scientists call it access: the officials you can reach decide what you can change.

   Huang met the commerce minister, but never the planner that drove the limits on his chips. [16]

   Seen it before

   Asking the class teacher for more time fails if the head teacher set the deadline.

   The truth

   • The FT's account rests on people familiar with the matter, and Nvidia did not respond. [16]

   What comes next

   Nvidia reports its quarterly results on 17 November. [16]

4. 06

   Questions for Nvidia's security team

   What happened

   • Nvidia's long-time security chief, David Reber, stepped down in August for health reasons, TechCrunch reports. [17]
   • Two and a half months later Huang left, amid questions about his tie to a Megaspeed executive. [17]
   • Reber's replacement, Sasa Zdjelar, did not answer questions on what the security team knew. [17]
   • Nothing public links the change in security to the Megaspeed affair, TechCrunch says. [17]

   Who is involved

   • David Reber Nvidia's security chief until August

   How it unfolded

   1. August security chief steps down
   2. November Huang leaves

   Why it matters

   A secret affair can give a foreign spy service leverage over a boss, security experts told TechCrunch. [17]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Whose job was it to notice?

      Ties between a boss and staff usually fall to HR, lawyers and the board, not security, TechCrunch notes. [17]

   2. 2

      Why do security teams miss this?

      Bosses often answer warnings with "not a nickel more than compliance", retired spy officer Nicholas Eftimiades said. [17]

   How it works

   Security experts call this an insider threat: a risk from people a company already trusts. [17]

   A boss's hidden affair is one, because whoever knows the secret can press him. [17]

   Seen it before

   A house key under the mat is safe only until a stranger sees you use it.

   The truth

   • Nvidia had not answered TechCrunch's questions. [17]
5. 07

   Microsoft owes business users for its outage

   What happened

   • After this week's long outage, Microsoft owes business customers credits on their bills, Wired reports. [18]
   • Its service agreement promises Exchange Online email works 99.9% of each month. [18]
   • Below 99.9% a customer gets 25% off. [18] Below 99.5% it is 50%, and below 95% it is 100%. [18]
   • An 18-hour outage would put a 30-day month at about 97.5%, so a 50% credit, Wired works out. [18]
   • Credits are not automatic: each customer has to file a claim. [18]

   How it unfolded

   1. 12 Nov the outage
   2. 31 Dec last day to claim

   Why it matters

   A company of 100 people will likely be owed more than $1,000, Wired estimates. [18]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Do home users get anything?

      Personal plans promise no uptime; refunds there are at Microsoft's "sole discretion". [18]

      Business planscredit owed

      vsvs

      Personal plansno promise
   2. 2

      Is a credit the same as a refund?

      No: it is money off a future bill, not a cash refund, Wired notes. [18]

      Email goes down→Customer files a claim→Money off the next bill

   How it works

   Wired calls it a service level agreement: a written promise of uptime with a set penalty. [18]

   Microsoft runs the servers, so its own agreement makes it give credits when email stops. [18]

   Seen it before

   A pizza shop that promises the meal free if it is late pays for its own slow ovens.

   Microsoft runs the servers, so its own agreement makes it give credits when email goes down.

   The idea, in story 02: Why the law makes whoever can stop a harm most cheaply answer for it →

   The truth

   • Microsoft gave Wired no new comment. [18]

   What comes next

   Claims for the 12 November outage close on 31 December 2026. [18]

6. 08

   Pentagon robots hunt without GPS

   What happened

   • DARPA, the US military's research agency, tested 4 robot ground vehicles hunting for targets without GPS last month. [19]
   • The test was at Fort Knox in Kentucky, under a programme called RACER. [19]
   • The robots built their own maps as they drove, instead of using satellite navigation. [19]
   • When one spotted a target, a human operator decided to fire a pretend rocket. [19]

   Why it matters

   The US military says it must be ready to fight where GPS is not available. [19]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Who makes the decision to fire?

      A human: the operator assigned tasks, checked findings and chose how to strike, DARPA says. [19]

   2. 2

      Where did the ideas come from?

      DARPA drew on how ground robots are used in Russia's war in Ukraine. [19]

   How it works

   Engineers call this keeping a human in the loop: a machine acts, but a person approves key steps. [19]

   Here a robot stops at a possible target, and only the operator chooses to strike. [19]

   Seen it before

   A self-checkout scans your shopping, but a worker still checks your age for alcohol.

   The truth

   • DARPA says the lessons will shape future military robots, without giving a date. [19]
7. 09

   Samsung shuts its News app in two countries

   What happened

   • Samsung will shut its News app on Galaxy phones in South Korea and India on 21 December. [20]
   • Its news widgets and home-screen page stop working the same day. [20]
   • Newer Galaxy phones already show Google Discover, Google's own news feed, by default. [20]

   How it unfolded

   It began as Bixby Home in 2017 and became Samsung Daily in 2019. [20] It was Samsung Free in 2020 and Samsung News in 2023. [20]

   1. 2017 Bixby Home
   2. 2019 Samsung Daily
   3. 2020 Samsung Free
   4. 2023 Samsung News

   Why it matters

   Samsung's own apps keep giving way to Google's: it ended Samsung Messages in the US in April. [20]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Why give up its own news feed?

      Engadget says Samsung likely sees little reason to compete with Google's feed, which phones already show. [20]

      Google's feed is on by default→Few use Samsung's→Samsung closes its own
   2. 2

      Will it close elsewhere too?

      SamMobile, a Samsung news site, says that is highly likely, but Samsung has not said. [20]

   Learn the idea behind it

   • Who really owns your Cybercab? Start the 14-minute course →
8. 10

   Linux fixes 2007 graphics cards

   What happened

   • A Linux fix for a video bug in AMD graphics cards from 2007 has been accepted. [21]
   • Linux is a free operating system, and the fix is due in its next release, Linux 7.5. [21]
   • Videos broke up on Radeon HD 2000 and 3000 cards when the chip drew graphics at the same time. [21]
   • Ted Bullock, a first-time contributor, found the cause with OpenAI's Codex, an AI coding tool. [21]
   • The driver did not keep video data in the card's own memory. [21] The fix makes it stay there. [21]

   Who is involved

   • Ted Bullock first-time Linux contributor

   Why it matters

   Owners of cards nearly 20 years old get clean video playback back. [21]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Was it a hard fix?

      No: the driver already did this for some other AMD chips. [21]

   2. 2

      What did the AI do?

      It helped a newcomer find his way through old driver code, Tom's Hardware says. [21]

      A newcomer→An AI coding tool→A fix in old code

   Good news

   • A video bug on these cards since 2007 now has a fix in Linux. [21]
   • A video bug that broke playback on AMD graphics cards since 2007 now has a fix in Linux, found by a first-time contributor.
9. 11

   Gemini shows what it remembers

   What happened

   • Google's Gemini assistant now shows users a summary of what it remembers about them, ZDNet reports. [22]
   • Users can edit or delete any detail on the website and desktop apps. [22]
   • ZDNet's reviewer found it had placed him in Madison County, though he lives in New York. [22]
   • Those details may also train the AI or be read by people, ZDNet notes. [22]

   Why it matters

   People can now see, and fix, what the assistant believes about them. [22]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Can phone users edit it too?

      Not directly: the phone apps have no editing tool, ZDNet says. [22]

      Phone appsno editing

      vsvs

      Website and desktopediting
   2. 2

      Can memory be switched off?

      Yes: the Memory setting can be switched off, and the summary then greys out. [22]