Jeremy Clarkson Tried The Tesla Cybercab And It Worries Him

Former Top Gear and Grand Tour Host Jeremy Clarkson tried the Tesla Cybercab in Austin, Texas, and unfortunately, the ride will remain in his memory for a long time, and that’s because of the bad experience.

According to his own words, the ride gave him ten minutes of serious anxiety. The car without a steering wheel and pedals did not stop at the finish line, and the driver claims that he ran through a red light and braked because of obstacles that were not there at all. He described the experience in a column for the Sunday Times, which is reported by the Motor1 portal.

The problems started already with the first ordered Cybercab. The vehicle stopped around the corner, away from the agreed pick-up point, so Clarkson had to go to it. When he got in, the car was just standing still, even though the digital assistant claimed they were already on their way to the finish line.

In the end, a customer service representative came over the loudspeaker and told him to cancel the ride and order another vehicle.

The replacement Cybercab initially drove normally. But when he reached his destination, he continued on with the notice to look for a safe place to stop. According to Clarkson’s description, he was passing places where he could have stopped.

The ride then became even more uncomfortable. Clarkson states that it appeared to him that the car was running red lights and then began to brake due to non-existent obstacles. He also described a confusing encounter with an autonomous shopping cart that got in his way. Since the Cybercab has no classic controls, it could not take control.

“For about ten minutes I was a bit worried,” admitted Clarkson, adding that there was nothing he could do. After such an experience, he showed no desire to repeat the journey if the service reached London.

Cybercab was specially developed for autonomous transport. It has two seats, and Tesla confirms in the official guide that it is not equipped with a steering wheel, gas pedal or brake. Passengers therefore do not have the possibility to take control of the vehicle as in an ordinary car.

However, there are several ways to end the ride. According to Tesla’s instructions, the passenger can request a stop via the central display, the mobile application or the STOP button located between the ceiling lights. The vehicle should then pull over to the side of the road as soon as it is safe to do so.

It is not clear from the available descriptions whether Clarkson used these capabilities. His description of driving therefore remains the passenger’s personal experience, without independent confirmation of the particular traffic situations he mentioned.

• Also Read: Tesla To Start Selling The Cybercab Later This Year