Tesla Keeps the Off Switch. Cybercab Buyers Keep the Responsibility.

Tesla invited select customers on November 13 to buy a Cybercab for personal use at a reported $29,990, plus a $299 monthly subscription after the first included month. The more consequential term is not the sticker price: Tesla’s November 12 agreement says the two-seat car will not operate without an active subscription.

The agreement gives Tesla continuing technical and economic control after sale. Tesla may change the subscription price with one month’s notice, expand or shrink the car’s operating geofences, require current software and connectivity, and remotely access, locate, restrict, control or place the vehicle in a safe state.

At the same time, the agreement says the owner and passengers are always responsible for complying with law and for safe operation when using Cybercab technology. The car has no steering wheel or pedals. Its manual touchscreen controls are limited to very low-speed movement and, Tesla says, are not for public roads.

That split is the accountability issue: Tesla reserves the power to determine where and whether the car can operate, while its contract assigns the buyer responsibility for lawful and safe use. The language does not settle how a court or regulator would allocate liability after a crash, and this article does not assume every clause is enforceable.

The subscription is more than a software toll. It includes autonomy, connectivity, remote support, towing and a package of tire, windshield, filter, inspection and cleaning services. Geofences, software requirements, inspections and remote safe-state authority can serve legitimate safety functions in a vehicle without conventional controls.

But cancellation makes the purchased car inoperable. Tesla may suspend service for nonpayment or unsafe or improper use; repeated strikeouts can trigger a one-week suspension without a prorated refund. The agreement also limits the car to personal, noncommercial use unless Tesla gives permission, excluding ride-hail, delivery and rental work.

The reported five-year cash cost would be $47,631 before taxes, insurance and charging if the $299 price remained unchanged: the $29,990 purchase price plus 59 paid months after the included first month. Tesla reserves the right to reprice the subscription, and Elon Musk said the listed monthly amount was too high, so that calculation is an illustration, not a fixed total.

A separate federal question remains open. NHTSA began an audit query on September 4 into Tesla’s self-certification of a Cybercab design without traditional manual controls. The agency said existing federal safety standards remain in force. The inquiry is not a finding that Tesla violated those standards, nor is it an approval or rejection of the personal-sale offer.

For prospective buyers, the practical test is whether ownership means control when the product’s core function remains revocable, geofenced and repriced by its maker. Tesla’s bundled services and safety controls are real benefits; so is the company’s continuing leverage over whether the vehicle a customer bought can move.