Tesla expands unsupervised robotaxi service in Austin

Tesla announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its unsupervised robotaxi service across the Austin metropolitan area in Texas, as the electric vehicle manufacturer accelerates its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The company said the move is part of its broader strategy to scale up autonomous transportation services and promote wider use of its Full Self-Driving software, which underpins its robotaxi technology.

The shift comes as CEO Elon Musk increasingly positions Tesla’s long-term growth around artificial intelligence and robotics rather than traditional electric vehicle sales.

“Unsupervised Robotaxi now in the entire Austin Metro area,” Tesla’s official robotaxi account posted on X.

The robotaxi service has been operating in Austin for nearly a year, although users have reportedly experienced wait times exceeding 30 minutes during peak demand periods.

According to a presentation by Austin city officials, Tesla currently operates around 50 vehicles in the city. In comparison, Alphabet’s Waymo operates more than 250 autonomous vehicles in the same area, highlighting a significant difference in fleet size between the two companies.

Musk said last month that he expects fully autonomous vehicles without human safety monitors to become more common across the United States later this year, following early deployments in Texas.

In April, Tesla also indicated plans to expand its robotaxi operations to additional Texas cities, including Dallas and Houston, as part of its broader rollout strategy for autonomous ride-hailing services.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev