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Tesla Rolls Out Robotaxis in Dallas and Houston With Tiny Service Zones

The timing before Wednesday’s earnings invites scrutiny over scale and safety.

Overview

  • Telsa, which announced the expansion Saturday, posted maps showing small geofenced areas in both cities and a short interior video of a driverless Model Y.
  • Tesla did not share fleet size, pricing, or whether rides run with in‑car safety monitors, leaving key operations questions unanswered.
  • Independent trackers and early rider posts show only one or a few cars in each city with brief availability spikes and long waits, and service often listed as unavailable.
  • The launch lands in markets where Waymo already runs paid driverless rides, with more vehicles in Dallas and at least one in Houston, highlighting a maturity gap.
  • NHTSA filings show multiple Tesla robotaxi crashes since the Austin launch with redacted incident details, adding to concerns as the company pushes new city rollouts days before its Q1 call.