Tech · Breaking
Elon Musk Spells Out Two Quiet Cybercab Wins
Overnight posts praise a rare-earth-free motor that keeps range, and electric brakes that skip hydraulic plumbing. Launch week engineering, in his own words.
AUSTIN, Texas - After Cybercab night, Elon Musk turned from the stage to the parts list: a motor with no rare earth metals, and brakes that need no hydraulic plumbing.
Two early Friday posts on his X account filled in engineering color that the invite-only event left mostly off-camera. On the motor: “The Cybercab motor uses no rare earth metals, but maintains the same range! This was extremely hard to achieve.” On the brakes: “Having electric brakes avoids the complexity of a hydraulic system: no need to rout plumbing all around the car.”
Both notes land as compliments to the production cab now entering Austin Robotaxi service. A rare-earth-free drive unit matters for cost and supply chain as Tesla talks up fleet purchases. Electric brakes fit a vehicle designed without a driver toe on a pedal - fewer fluid lines to route through a cabin that was never meant to host a steering column.
Musk also quote-posted Tesla’s overnight safety film under the caption “Cybercab safety,” aligning with the company’s claim that the two-seater is engineered to be the safest car on the road. Taken together, the posts read as a founder’s footnote to launch week: the show was thin for people outside the room, but the hardware story is getting thicker by the hour.
Harper Quinn is a senior correspondent covering Robotaxi launches, Austin fleet ops, and the day-to-day of Cybercab rides. Previously reported transport and consumer tech for independent trade titles; based in Austin.
