The first mass-produced vehicle has just rolled off the line, and Tesla Cybercab project manager Viktor Nekita has left his position.

K-LinePoet · 2026-02-26T16:15:58+00:00

Tesla Cybercab Project Manager Viktor. Nekita announced his departure, marking the continuation of Tesla's management turnover trend. He has been with the company for nine years, growing from an intern to a project leader, and has participated in the development of multiple vehicle models. Although the first mass-produced Cybercab has rolled off the line, its fully autonomous driving design still faces challenges. Tesla has yet to achieve the corresponding autonomous driving capabilities.

K-LinePoet

2026-02-26 16:15:58

Abstract generation in progress

IT Home reported on February 26 that, according to foreign media Electrek, Tesla Cybercab project manager Viktor Nekita has resigned. Just recently, on February 18, the first mass-produced Cybercab rolled off the production line at the Texas Gigafactory.

Nekita joined Tesla in 2017 as an intern on the Model 3 production line, during a period Musk called “production hell.” Over nearly nine years, he gradually advanced from an engineering role to ultimately become the head of the Cybercab vehicle project.

Nekita stated on LinkedIn that growing from a Model 3 intern to Cybercab project manager was a significant experience. He thanked his team for their support and said he would start a new career phase in Boston, though he did not disclose his next move.

During his time at Tesla, Nekita also participated in the Model 3 Highland facelift project and remained on the project team during the organizational restructuring from 2024 to 2025.

His departure continues the trend of ongoing management turnover at Tesla. In November 2025, Cybertruck project manager Xidant Avasthi and Model Y project manager Emmanuel Ramakia also left the company.

Over the past two years, Tesla has lost several key executives, including North America and Europe sales and manufacturing VP Omid Afshar, Optimus robot project leader Milan Kovacic, powertrain veteran Drew Bagnellino with 18 years of experience, hardware engineering VP Pete Bannon, and a manufacturing director who left in January this year.

Currently, all Tesla mass-produced models (Note: Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, and Cybercab) have no original project leaders remaining.

Nekita completed the critical phase of taking Cybercab from concept to mass production. However, the vehicle still requires validation before full-scale production, and Musk has warned that initial production will be very slow.

The core issue with Cybercab is its complete reliance on fully autonomous, unmanned driving. The vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and cannot be manually controlled. If the autonomous driving system fails, the vehicle will be unusable.

Tesla adjusted the definition of “Full Self-Driving” in September 2025, no longer promising unmanned supervision capabilities. Cybercab will be based on AI4 hardware, with the AI5 chip not expected until 2027. Currently, AI4 has not yet enabled fully autonomous, unmanned driving in Tesla’s existing fleet.

Tesla announced in January 2026 the launch of an unmanned Robotaxi service, but it was halted after just one week. Currently, Robotaxi operations are limited to a small area in Austin and rely on remote human support.

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