Tesla Robotaxi buzz

Tesla expanded its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston on April 18, adding two Texas cities to a driverless ride program that began in Austin last year. (tesla.com; techcrunch.com) Tesla’s own robotaxi page still says autonomous rides are “currently being offered in Austin, Texas,” and says the service is “starting with Model Y,” while the Cybercab “will offer rides in your area in the future.” (tesla.com) The Dallas and Houston expansion was announced in a social post and video showing Tesla vehicles operating without a visible driver or front-seat safety monitor. TechCrunch reported the company now offers robotaxi service in three cities, all in Texas. (techcrunch.com) Tesla launched the Austin service in June 2025, and Reuters reported in January 2026 that the company had started robotaxi rides there without safety monitors in the car. (cnbc.com; money.usnews.com) The current rollout is still narrow. Electrek reported Tesla’s new Dallas and Houston service areas cover roughly 25 square miles each, and TechCrunch said crowdsourced tracking showed one active vehicle logged in each city, compared with 46 in Austin. (electrek.co; techcrunch.com) Texas is also becoming a direct test against Waymo. The Houston Chronicle reported Waymo began taking paying customers in Houston in February with a service area of about 22 square miles inside the Inner Loop. (houstonchronicle.com) Tesla is pushing the robotaxi story on two tracks: a live ride-hailing service built on Model Y vehicles now, and a purpose-built Cybercab that has no steering wheel or pedals later. Tesla’s robotaxi page describes Cybercab as the dedicated vehicle for the future network. (tesla.com) That future vehicle has also been put in front of regulators. TeslaNorth reported Tesla displayed the production Cybercab at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington on March 10 during the first federal autonomous vehicle safety forum. (teslanorth.com) Reports from that display described a two-seat cabin, a 21-inch center screen, and extra interior space created by removing the steering wheel and pedals. Teslarati said observers also noted an added camera in the C-pillar to widen the vehicle’s view. (teslanorth.com; teslarati.com) The expansion is arriving alongside continued scrutiny of safety data. TechCrunch reported Tesla said in a February filing that its Austin robotaxis had been involved in 14 crashes since launch, and Bloomberg reported those incidents included property damage, minor injuries and a hospitalization. (techcrunch.com; bloomberg.com) For now, the online buzz is running ahead of the scale. Tesla has moved from one Texas robotaxi city to three, but the service is still limited, the fleet size is still unclear, and the Cybercab remains the next chapter rather than the one on the road today. (techcrunch.com; tesla.com)