Tesla Cybercab's Backup Steering Wheel Is A Giant On-Screen Joystick

Tesla hid a virtual steering wheel inside of the Cybercab's giant infotainment screen.

Tesla Cybercab touchscreen controls

Photo by: Matthew Skrzypczak / X

Rob Stumpf

By: Rob Stumpf

Sep 8, at 12:40pm ET

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Tesla's Cybercab might not have a steering wheel, but there's still a way to steer it.
A rider found a car with a hidden menu showing off a joystick-like control pad on the screen.
The rider said that it was for moving the car at low speeds of up to 7 MPH.

The Tesla Cybercab is here and just like Elon Musk promised, it's rolling out without a steering wheel. It also has no pedals to step on, no stalks to flick, or knobs to turn. It's all screen.

Well, it turns out that there is a backup way to move the vehicle without needing to plug in an Xbox controller. A new video shows a hidden service menu inside of the Cybercab with a virtual joystick. It seems to allow a driver to control the steering and acceleration of the car using just their index finger.

X user Matthew Skrzypczak says that he happened to hop in a Cybercab where the menu was left up for anyone to see.

"When I got in the vehicle, the display was in a different configuration with a virtual joystick for manual driving," said Skrzypczak in a post on X. "I have a feeling I wasn’t supposed to see this… but I try to manually drive the vehicle anyway!"

The video shows Skrzypczak fiddling with some menu items and attempting to move the joystick. The actual controls seem simple: slide the joystick "Forward" and move forward. Drag left or right while holding the directional pad up or down to control the direction of the wheels. Unfortunately for Skrzypczak, the car didn't respond to the movement. It's unclear if there was a another step that needed to be taken before the car could move.

On the display, a row of Superchargers can be seen in view of the car's rear-facing cameras. He hypothesizes that's where the manual controls were last used, as the controls would allow the car to move "up to 7 mph." This tracks with a video posted just over a week ago that shows a Cybercab operator steering the car using the touch screen—but this latest look actually shows the interface that operator was using up close.

Skrzypczak wasn't the only Cybercab rider to gtt into a cab with the manual controls displayed and unsuccessfully try to use them.

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It makes sense that Tesla would have a way to manually move a vehicle without needing the help of any other accessories. For example, if a vehicle was stuck and unable to self-navigate out of a situation, or if emergency crews needed to move it manually. Indeed, Tesla's official manual for first responders notes that "In situations where Cybercab is operable, Cybercab can be manually moved with onboard vehicle controls." According to the guide, first responders can call up Tesla's support team and flash their badge to a Cybercab's cameras to gain access.

But if these random users was able to access the controls, what safeguards are in place to keep others from being able to pilot the car if they discover the same menu?

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