Elon Musk rolls out Tesla's steering-wheel-free robotaxis

NEW YORK — US billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent dozens of self-driving Cybercabs without steering wheels or brake pedals onto the streets of Austin, Texas, on Thursday, with the US auto safety agency saying it was evaluating the effort.Tesla said it was offering rides in limited areas of Austin, Texas, in its two-seater Cybercab, which Musk has said is key to transforming the electric-vehicle maker ‌into a dominant force in driverless vehicles. Tesla in recent weeks has promoted what it called an exclusive "Cybercab launch event" in Austin on Thursday, drawing interest from investors and fans, some of whom came to Texas to try out the golden, butterfly-door cars.Musk himself skipped the event, attendees said, and remarks from executives on pricing plans, manufacturing and technology lasted only about a quarter of an hour, according to videos posted after the event.The rollout of the gold-colored Teslas, which give passengers no way to take control in an emergency, comes as the company prepares to launch the service in other cities.Tesla shares have suffered amid a slump in vehicle sales, but they rose more than 5% on Thursday on hopes that the futuristic-looking taxis will c