Tesla launches Robotaxi service in Houston, but there's a catch
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Tesla's Robotaxi service is live in Houston. Photo: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Tesla began offering robotaxi rides in Houston this weekend in a service area nearly 14 miles northwest of downtown.
Why it matters: Tesla's suburban rollout is a different approach from other autonomous ride-hailing companies operating on Bayou City streets.
Driving the news: The company is now offering autonomous rides to customers in a roughly 24-square-mile portion of northwest Harris County, including Jersey Village, Willowbrook and 5.5 miles of FM 1960, per industry watchdog group Robotaxi Tracker.
- Anyone with the Tesla Robotaxi app inside the service area can hail a ride, the company says — though there are just two vehicles operating in the area, per Robotaxi Tracker.
The intrigue: It is unclear why Tesla chose the suburbs for its initial launch over communities closer to the city center.
- Tesla did not respond to questions from Axios about its operations in the Houston area.
Zoom out: In its announcement Saturday on X, Tesla said it's also offering service in Dallas.
- The service area in Dallas is about the same size but includes all of downtown and several areas to the north, including Highland Park, per Robotaxi Tracker.
- In Austin, where service has been available since June, there are more than 40 Tesla robotaxis operating in a 244-square-mile area.
- Only about a dozen are fully driverless, however. Most still have a safety driver behind the wheel.
Thought bubble from Axios transportation correspondent Joann Muller, author of the Future of Mobility newsletter:
- "Tesla has bet its future on AI and autonomy, but its robotaxi rollout has been pretty conservative, as the launch in Houston shows.
- "It still needs to perfect its Full Self-Driving technology, which is why it's starting with only two vehicles in a small operating area.
- "The timing of its expansion in Houston and Dallas is interesting, though: Tesla will report first-quarter earnings Wednesday, and no doubt wants to be able to show investors that it's making progress in autonomy."
The big picture: Waymo offers autonomous rides in Houston on a limited basis in a 23-square-mile service area that includes downtown, Montrose and the Heights.
- Test vehicles for Nuro Lucid Uber, a joint robotaxi venture by the three companies, have also been spotted on Houston streets inside the Loop.
The bottom line: Robotaxis are becoming more and more of a thing in Houston.