Cybercab screen reveals hidden manual joystick — an employee-only mode
A rider's X video showed the Cybercab's touchscreen displaying a drag-to-steer virtual joystick — even though Tesla built the robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals. The interface appears to be a leftover employee-only manual-control mode that wasn't cleared before the ride, and though the rider's touch inputs moved the on-screen joystick, the car itself never moved, showing a backend safeguard blocked unauthorized control.
On September 7, Cybercab rider Matthew Skrzypczak posted an X video that caught Tesla-watchers' attention — the touchscreen inside his Austin robotaxi was showing something riders normally never see.
The screen displayed a virtual joystick for dragging to steer and accelerate, plus manual buttons for braking, honking, and closing the cabin doors. Cybercab was built with no steering wheel or pedals at all, so the existence of any manual-control interface hadn't previously been documented.
Tesla-watcher outlets analyzing the footage concluded the screen was likely a leftover employee-only mode used for emergency or close-range control, left uncleared from a prior operation and shown to this rider by a software glitch — not a feature meant for public access.
When the rider tapped and dragged the on-screen joystick, the visual controls tracked the touch, but the vehicle itself never moved — evidence that a backend safeguard prevents unauthorized riders from actually engaging the drive systems. Tesla has not issued an official comment.
The episode surfaced while Cybercab is under a formal NHTSA audit, and it cuts two ways: it reveals a hidden manual-control pathway inside a driverless vehicle, while also showing that a backend safety layer kept that pathway from being exploited.
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