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Tesla Tells DC Council It Is Developing a Wheelchair-Accessible Robotaxi
Tesla senior policy advisor India Herdman told the DC City Council on Monday that the company is developing a purpose-built wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. The statement came during a hearing on a bill to allow robotaxi services in the District. No timeline or further details were provided.
Jul 13, 1:15 PM·1m read2 sources
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Tesla senior policy advisor India Herdman told the DC City Council on Monday that the company is developing a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. “We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas,” she added.
Wired reported the comments made during a hearing on a bill that could allow robotaxi services to operate in the District of Columbia. Herdman gave no timeline or further details on availability. Tesla operates a small fleet of autonomous vehicles in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Miami using Model Y vehicles that are not wheelchair accessible.
The company has begun manufacturing and testing a purpose-built Cybercab designed exclusively for autonomous driving that is also not wheelchair accessible. Tesla posted on X this month highlighting Cybercab accessibility features including braille lettering on controls and wheelchair-height seating.
The company added an accessibility tab to its Robotaxi app in fall 2025 that states “We are working on accessible rides,” though the tab directs users to third-party providers.
No U.S. robotaxi company currently offers fleetwide driverless, wheelchair-accessible rides. General Motors’ Cruise introduced a prototype wheelchair-accessible driverless taxi in 2023 but General Motors stopped funding its self-driving unit entirely in 2024.
