Joystick on the Glass: Riders Find a Hidden Way to Move a Cab

A Cybercab still has to be moved by a person sometimes. Tesla built no wheel and no pedals to do it. Riders in Austin found the workaround on the cabin screen.

Matthew Skrzypczak posted cabin video on Sept. 7. "When I got in the vehicle, the display was in a different configuration with a virtual joystick for manual driving," he wrote. "I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to see this."

The left side of the screen showed a joystick marked forward and reverse, a stop control, a horn, and a command to close the cabin doors. Camera feeds sat on the right. A second rider, David Moss, posted a similar layout.

Skrzypczak said some camera views were still showing a Supercharger, which led him to think a Tesla employee had last used the car there. Tesla has not shown the mode in public.

A purpose-built robotaxi still needs a way out of a depot, off a curb, or out of a tight spot. On-screen controls are how you do that without bolting a wheel back into the car. For a vehicle designed around unsupervised miles, the joystick is the exception that proves the rule.