Tesla's Grand Plan for the Future Is a Car With No Steering Wheel
Tesla's first new vehicle in years rolled off its Austin production line last month, swarmed by workers in hard hats and safety vests -- the first, the company hopes, of potentially millions.Tesla has celebrated moments like this before. But never with a car like this. It is called the Cybercab, and it doesn't have a steering wheel or pedals. When it begins mass production in April, as company officials claim, it will be a test of Tesla's make-or-break plan to move beyond being a traditional car company -- and a test of U.S. safety regulations that were never meant for something like this.But the company needs approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to sell the Cybercab, since it lacks a steering wheel, pedals and side mirrors. NHTSA grants exemptions to automakers to sell vehicles not fully in compliance with the