The new Tesla Cybercab is displayed at a Tesla store in Beijing, China. (EPA Images pic)SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla is aiming to start selling its Cybercab robotaxis to the public by the end of this year, its engineering chief said on Wednesday, even as the US auto safety agency probes the vehicles that come without manual controls which federal regulations typically require.

The gold, two-seaters – that come with butterfly doors and drive themselves without any steering wheel, pedals or mirrors – are one of the key bets CEO Elon Musk has made in his ambition of turning the EV maker into an AI and robotics company.

"As Tesla grows, we'll mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers and Cybercabs will be the first," Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, told analysts after reporting third-quarter results.