Tesla expands robotaxi service to San Antonio

Summary

• Tesla is expanding its robotaxi service to San Antonio, Texas, with availability starting at 5 a.m. local time on Monday.
• The company aims to compete with Waymo & position itself as more than just an automaker.
• Tesla has not disclosed service hours, vehicle types (Cybercab or modified Model Y), or the presence of human safety monitors for the San Antonio launch.
• Previous launches followed a pattern of starting with limited vehicles & confined areas before expanding.
• Elon Musk promised autonomous vehicles for a decade, leading to a June 2025 robotaxi launch in Austin that included human safety operators.
• Safety monitors were removed from Austin robotaxis in January, initiating a true driverless service.
• Tesla currently operates robotaxis in limited areas of Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Fort Worth, & Houston.
• Waymo operates a driverless service in Austin, Dallas, Houston, & San Antonio using Jaguar I-Pace & Zeekr RT vehicles.
• Waymo recently restarted San Antonio services after a five-month pause due to vehicles getting stuck in flooded roadways.
• Tesla registered over 400 autonomous vehicles in Austin, while other cities have fleets ranging from a handful to a few dozen.
• Specific fleet counts include 24 vehicles in Fort Worth & five in Miami.
• Tesla operates a human-driven ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area but lacks permits for driverless operations in California.
• Data released this summer showed fewer miles driven with paying customers in the second quarter compared to the first.