Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, recently explained the reasoning behind the gold color choice for the company’s newly unveiled autonomous ride-hailing vehicle, the Cybercab, during an interview with the Petersen Automotive Museum. In the video shared on Tuesday, von Holzhausen discussed various features of the two-seat autonomous vehicle, which is currently on display at the museum in Los Angeles, California.
According to von Holzhausen, the gold color was selected to represent a futuristic take on the iconic yellow of New York City’s traditional yellow taxis. “We chose the color gold, and it’s really a special color,” von Holzhausen said. “It really reflects kind of a future version of the idea of a New York City yellow cab. It’s a future idea of that where we’ve taken that iconic yellow and created something more expressive, and more up to date.”
In the interview, von Holzhausen revealed other key aspects of the Cybercab, including its lack of a steering wheel, pedals, and back window, highlighting the vehicle’s fully autonomous nature. The video, which runs just under 10 minutes, also touches on the future availability of the vehicle, with plans for it to be available for purchase or lease, allowing consumers to use it for the duration of their choice.
The Cybercab, which features a simplified design with roughly half the parts of a Model 3, will also include advanced autonomous technologies such as an inductive wireless charging system and a self-governing cleaning system, further enhancing its futuristic appeal. Tesla initially revealed the design for the Cybercab on October 10 during an event called “We, Robot,” and aims to begin production of the vehicle in late 2026, with plans to reach a production volume of two million units per year.
