Tesla robotaxi clip

A viral video posted Monday shows a Tesla robotaxi making an unsupervised trip in Dallas, one of the clearest public looks yet at the company’s driverless ride service. (x.com) The post by Tesla supporter Sawyer Merritt said the ride cost $6.15, covered 2.25 miles in seven minutes, and was recorded by an anonymous passenger. The same post showed a Waymo quote of $13.93 for what it described as a comparable trip. (x.com) Tesla’s own support page still says robotaxi service is available only in limited areas of Austin, Texas, where riders use an iPhone app to see an estimated fare and request a Model Y. Tesla says the service currently runs from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Central time. (tesla.com) That gap between Tesla’s public support page and the Dallas clip is why the video drew attention. It suggests Tesla may be testing or expanding beyond Austin before updating its consumer-facing materials. (tesla.com) (x.com) Tesla’s Austin launch in June 2025 was much narrower: CNBC reported it was invite-only, supervised, and used roughly 10 to 20 vehicles. The same report said some rides were smooth, but other vehicles were seen braking suddenly, stopping in traffic, or dropping a passenger in the middle of an intersection. (cnbc.com) By January 22, 2026, Elon Musk said Tesla had removed human safety monitors from a small number of robotaxis in Austin. CNBC reported Tesla still had only limited operations in Austin and San Francisco at that point, well short of Musk’s earlier forecast for broad U.S. rollout. (cnbc.com) Waymo, the company used as the price comparison in the clip, opened its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to first public riders in Dallas on February 24, 2026. Waymo said those Dallas invitations were rolling out ahead of a broader opening later in 2026. (waymo.com) The Dallas video also revives the hardware argument that has split the robotaxi business for years. CNBC reported Tesla relies primarily on cameras, while Waymo and Zoox use radar and lidar in addition to cameras, and critics have long argued that Tesla’s simpler sensor stack leaves less margin for error. (cnbc.com) For now, the clip proves only one ride shown in one post, not a broad public launch. But it puts a concrete price, route length, and city on Tesla’s latest robotaxi claim — and it does so in a market where Waymo is already taking riders. (x.com) (waymo.com)