• Former Manchester United Goalkeeper Stuns Fans with Fiery Recovery Treatment

  Former Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana has resorted to extreme measures in an attempt to improve his fitness. The footballer showed off an unusual recovery treatment that even involved real fire...

• Bentley Unveils Its First “Affordable” Electric SUV, the $230,000 Torcal

  Bentley has entered the electric era with the launch of its first fully electric vehicle — the luxury Torcal SUV. The British marque is hoping to attract wealthy customers who want to move away from internal-combustion engines without giving up the signature design language that has defined Bentley for more than a century, according to the New York Post...

• Kisses, Moans and Simulated Sex: Diesel Show in Milan Shocked the Audience

  At fashion weeks around the world, traditional runway shows increasingly seem to be giving way to unexpected performances. But what happened at Milan Fashion Week appears to have surprised even the most seasoned fashion crowd, according to the New York Post...

• Kit Harington Opens the Door to a Jon Snow Game of Thrones Spinoff: “There’s a World in Which Something Could Work”

  Kit Harington may not have closed the book on Jon Snow just yet. Two years after the actor said the planned Game of Thrones spinoff centered on his iconic character had been shelved, he has once again suggested that a return to the role could still be possible...

• Prince Harry Calls AI the “Ultimate Sycophant” and Urges Action to Protect Children

  Prince Harry has joined calls to urgently slow the development of artificial intelligence, describing AI as the “ultimate sycophant” and warning that the technology is advancing so rapidly that researchers are already struggling to keep up...

• Melania Trump Promises to Reveal Personal Secrets in New Series: “There Are Questions I’ve Never Answered”

  Melania Trump has teased the public with a new documentary series, promising that it will be very different from her self-titled film and will give viewers answers to “personal” questions she has never been asked before...

• Madonna Poses in Sheer Lingerie and Tights for Daring Photoshoot Celebrating New Album

  Madonna has teased fans with sexy behind-the-scenes photos from a photoshoot celebrating the new merchandise collection for her much-talked-about album Confessions II...

• Kim Kardashian Shows Off Her Famous Curves in a Pink Bikini

  Kim Kardashian showed off her famous curves in a tiny pink bikini in a new series of Instagram photos — shortly after her boyfriend, Lewis Hamilton, shared sweet snapshots from their romantic date...

Elon Musk has sent dozens of fully autonomous Cybercabs onto the streets of Austin, Texas — vehicles with no steering wheel and no brake pedals whatsoever.

The launch comes as sales of Tesla’s traditional electric vehicles continue to decline and the company loses its global EV market leadership to Chinese automaker BYD.

Tesla shares rose more than 5% on investor hopes that the futuristic taxis will quickly catch on with the public.

The new gold-colored Tesla EVs leave passengers with no way to take control in an emergency. Nevertheless, Musk is aggressively promoting the project. Ahead of the launch, Tesla posted a teaser on X with the caption “No steering wheel, no pedals,” while the billionaire later wrote: “Cybercab storm.”

However, the company faces significant public skepticism.

Passenger Distrust

According to a February survey by Pew Research Center, seven in 10 Americans feel “not too” or “not at all” comfortable with the idea of riding in a self-driving vehicle. Only 7% of respondents said they would feel extremely or very confident doing so.

The Race Against Rivals

Tesla is still far behind the market leader in autonomous ride-hailing, Waymo, the self-driving unit owned by Alphabet. Tesla has just over 200 driverless vehicles operating across several cities, while Waymo’s fleet exceeds 4,000 vehicles across 14 cities.

A Different Technical Approach

Unlike its competitors — Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox — which use a combination of cameras, radar and lidar laser sensors, Tesla’s system relies exclusively on cameras.

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram