Texas Robotaxi Deployments

Overview

Two Approaches in the Same Cities

Texas is one of the few states where several robotaxi operators compete in the same cities. Waymo carries paying riders in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio; Tesla Robotaxi runs in Austin, Dallas and Houston; Avride runs on the Uber app in Dallas; and Zoox is testing in all three of the large metros. Austin, Dallas and Houston each have both Waymo and Tesla in public service.

The two leaders take different approaches. Waymo maps each city in detail before launch and runs a purpose-built sensor suite of lidar, radar and cameras. Tesla runs its camera-only Full Self-Driving software on Model Ys and on the Cybercab, built at Giga Texas with no steering wheel or pedals.

Tesla

From Safety Monitors to the Cybercab

Tesla launched in Austin on June 22, 2025 with a safety monitor in the front passenger seat. It began adding cars with no one aboard in January 2026, and each city's fleet is still a mix of monitored and unmonitored cars. Dallas and Houston opened on April 18, 2026, and Miami, Orlando and Tampa followed in July; Phoenix, Las Vegas, Jacksonville and San Antonio are listed as coming with no dates. Tesla reports 3.1 million unsupervised miles from January 22 to October 18, 2026.

Cybercab production began at Giga Texas in April 2026, and the Cybercab entered public service in Austin on September 4. Texas registrations on October 10 showed about 319 Cybercabs and 420 Model Ys; Tesla says more than 300 Cybercabs serve Austin. On its October 21 earnings call Tesla said Dallas gets the Cybercab next month and that it aims to sell Cybercabs to customers by the end of 2026, targeting a ride cost of 30 cents a mile. Federal regulators have an open inquiry into Cybercab compliance with vehicle safety standards.

Waymo

Waymo: Four Texas Metros

Waymo has run in Austin on the Uber app since March 4, 2025, and added freeway trips on select rides in September 2026. Dallas, Houston and San Antonio opened to invited riders on February 24, 2026; Dallas dropped its waitlist in August, and San Antonio, paused from April for flooding, reopened in September and opened to all riders on October 14.

Nationally Waymo serves 15 metros with more than 4,000 vehicles, mostly Jaguar I-Pace with about 300 of its Ojai, and reports 500,000 paid rides a week, with a goal of 1 million by the end of 2026. Hyundai Ioniq 5 deliveries are due in the fourth quarter.

Texas rules

State Law, Now With a Permit

Senate Bill 2205 (2017) let automated vehicles drive on Texas public roads with no human driver and barred cities from regulating them separately. Senate Bill 2807 (2025) adds a state permit: since May 28, 2026 commercial driverless operators need authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, and enforcement and a public complaint process began June 2. The same laws cover driverless trucks.

Constraints

Scale, Safety and Cost

• Scale: Waymo's 500,000 weekly rides cover 15 metros; Texas fleets are still in the hundreds of cars per city.
• Safety review: federal regulators are looking at Tesla school-zone speeding allegations and Cybercab compliance; Tesla's response is due October 30.
• Supervision: Tesla's Texas fleets still mix monitored and unmonitored cars, and Avride carries a safety operator.
• Cost: Tesla's 30 cents a mile is a target; neither company reports robotaxi profit.

Related coverage

Related Coverage

• Autonomous Freight Pilots
• Model Y, Cybertruck, Cybercab Production
• Cortex 1 and 2 Superclusters
• Tesla Giga Texas Complex
• Texas Triangle