2 hours ago - Transit

Tesla's Robotaxi footprint grows in Houston

Shafaq Patel

Aerial view of a parking lot filled with identical gold-colored cars arranged in diagonal rows, with white lines crisscrossing the gray pavement. — Photo: Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images

Tesla has expanded its robotaxi service across more of Houston.

The big picture: The cars previously operated in northwest Houston, near Jersey Village. Now, riders can hail them throughout much of the 610 Loop and northwest Houston, including Montrose, Midtown and East Downtown.

The expanded service area resembles a rocket, prompting the announcement, "Houston, we have liftoff." But the northeast portion of the Loop remains outside its boundaries.

What they're saying: "I swear it's just a coincidence," Tesla CEO Elon Musk joked on X about the map's shape.

Zoom out: Houston is becoming a hub for robotaxis, with Waymo already operating here and Uber and Amazon's Zoox testing their vehicles.

The bottom line: Expect to see more of Tesla's gold-colored robotaxis — conspicuously missing side mirrors — on Houston streets.

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Tesla's Robotaxi footprint grows in Houston

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