You no longer have to be picky about where you hail a Tesla robotaxi in its flagship city, provided you aren’t too picky about when your ride arrives. The company has confirmed that its “unsupervised” service now operates across the “entire” Austin metro area.
The move greatly expands coverage beyond the previous South Austin footprint. That could be vital in a city defined by its highways, and might help Tesla better compete with Waymo, whose autonomous cars serve a still-wider area through a partnership with Uber.
There is an important catch. As Electrek explains, Tesla currently has about 20 active robotaxis in Austin. Waymo has 300 as of early June, according to dataThe Austin American-Statesman obtained from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. You could be waiting a while for a ride, particularly at peak times or in relatively remote parts of the city.
Tesla and further robotaxi coverage
It might hinge on a software update
Credit: Tesla
Tesla operates its completely driverless robotaxi service in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, with safety drivers on hand for drives in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, the total fleet is limited to 165, only 34 of which are known to be active. These cars are currently Model Y crossovers.
The company is currently waiting on a number of conditions before it ramps up deployments. Cybercab production only began in April, so the hardware to fulfill Tesla’s plans isn’t truly available. CEO Elon Musk has also said that a larger robotaxi rollout depends on the release of Full Self-Driving (FSD) version 15 software, which isn’t expected until late 2026 at the earliest.
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The EV giant is also making Cybercabs, with robots coming soon.
A symbolic expansion, not practical
As such, Tesla’s coverage of the whole Austin metro area is more an expression of confidence in the service after its first anniversary than a realistic, tangible upgrade for riders.
The EV maker believes its robotaxis are at least capable of handling a major urban market, even if there aren’t yet enough cars to handle potential demand. The expansion could also help Tesla gather data about serving large areas, making sure it’s ready to deal with a large volume of customers.
Source: Tesla Robotaxi (X)
