Update, August 18, 2026: A showroom car in December 2025 was not the start of volume production. Tesery later covered Tesla saying a first Cybercab rolled at Giga Texas and an accessibility-control note ahead of the 2026 build target. Check Tesla’s current timeline before treating “Q2 2026” as a shipped fleet.
In mid-December 2025 Tesla put a refined two-seat Cybercab on the floor at its Santana Row store in San Jose — 333 Santana Row, Suite 1015. Photographer Nic Cruz Patane posted the first clear walkaround on December 14: frameless glass, a longer front splitter, a production-style light bar with headlights in it, new wheel covers, a license-plate bracket, and two windshield wipers where the prototype had one.
That is a display car customers can walk around. It is not a robotaxi you can hail in San Jose, and it is not Giga Texas starting the line. Tesla’s public production target at the time was Q2 2026. “Looks production-ready” is a design judgment, not a bill of materials.
Key facts
- Where: Tesla Santana Row, San Jose, California.
- When photos landed: December 14–15, 2025.
- What changed vs the early prototype: Exterior glass and bumpers, light bar, wheels, plate bracket, two wipers; inside, dash, doors, carpet, seats, center cupholders, powered door struts.
- What Tesla had said: Cybercab production aimed at Q2 2026.
- What this is not: Volume production, a California robotaxi permit, or a car you can order for the driveway.
The Tesla Cybercab in its new, more production-ready design is now on DISPLAY at Tesla Santana Row in San Jose! New frameless window design, production front lightbar, two windshield wipers. Prototype had only one.
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) December 14, 2025
What the San Jose car actually shows
Patane’s interior comparison the same day is the useful part. New carpet, seats, dash, and door panels. The cabin still has no steering wheel. Seats looked pushed back a few inches versus the We, Robot prototype — more legroom, still a two-seater. Powered struts on the doors are the kind of late hardware you add when a show car has to open all day without breaking.
Two wipers and a real plate bracket are compliance tells. A one-wiper concept can tour a stage. A street-legal robotaxi in California rain cannot. That still does not mean the Santana Row unit is a certified production vehicle. Tesla did not publish a VIN, a build sheet, or a start-of-production memo with the photos.
Display versus Robotaxi service
Bay Area Tesla stores have shown Cybercab mockups before. Putting a tighter design in San Jose is consistent with Tesla wanting California eyes on the two-seater while the paid Robotaxi experiment was still a small Austin/Bay-area Model Y fleet. Tesery’s later production-intent test-car note and the Austin “citywide, ~20 cars” count are the service side. A showroom Cybercab does not add a car to that fleet.
If you are in San Jose, Tesla’s store page is the hours and address. Do not assume the floor car is still there months later. Stores rotate metal.
FAQ
Can I buy a Cybercab from Santana Row?
No. December 2025 was a display. Tesla had not opened consumer Cybercab orders as a normal inventory car.
Did production start in December 2025?
No. Tesla’s stated target then was Q2 2026. Later Tesery notes cover the first Giga Texas unit — a different event.
Is this the same as Robotaxi in the Tesla app?
No. Robotaxi rides in 2025 used Model Ys with safety monitors or a limited unsupervised set. Cybercab is the purpose-built two-seater.
For owners: a Cybercab in a mall storefront is a product teaser. It does not change FSD on your car and it does not put your Model Y into a San Jose taxi pool.
Featured photo: interior of Tesla’s two-seat Cybercab (file photo of the cabin type displayed at Santana Row). Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Related: Production-intent Cybercabs in testing · First Cybercab at Giga Texas · Cybercab accessibility controls · Austin Robotaxi: map vs ~20 cars
