Tesla Robotaxi Rollout Faces Early Challenges in Texas

Tesla’s expansion of its robotaxi service into Dallas and Houston has highlighted both the company’s ambitions and the current limitations of its self-driving technology.

The rollout, promoted as another step toward CEO Elon Musk’s vision of transforming Tesla into an AI and autonomous-driving leader, has so far delivered inconsistent results for riders, according to recent tests conducted by Reuters reporters.

Long Waits and Limited Availability

In Dallas, one reporter attempting to travel from Southern Methodist University to Dallas City Hall experienced repeated delays while trying to book a robotaxi through Tesla’s app. Messages warning of “high service demand” and “no rides available nearby” appeared for more than half an hour before a vehicle finally became available.

Although the destination was only about five miles away, the full journey — including waiting time — lasted nearly two hours. The vehicle avoided the main freeway route, traveled slowly through city streets, and eventually dropped the passenger roughly a 15-minute walk from City Hall.

When contacted through the vehicle’s support system, a Tesla representative reportedly explained that parts of the area were still restricted because the service remained in a beta-testing phase.

Additional rides in downtown Dallas revealed similar issues. Some drop-off points were inconveniently located far from destinations, while one ride involved the vehicle repeatedly failing to complete a left turn at a complex intersection before eventually correcting itself.

Houston Service Still Small

In Houston, Tesla’s robotaxi operations currently cover only a limited suburban zone in the northwest part of the city.

A Reuters reporter there completed one successful ride but struggled to book another afterward. One request was eventually canceled despite the app initially showing a nearby vehicle. After waiting unsuccessfully for another car, the reporter chose to use Uber instead.

Austin Operations Still Developing

Austin, where Tesla first launched its robotaxi pilot last year, has shown signs of improvement but still faces operational limitations.

According to city officials, Tesla currently operates around 50 robotaxis in Austin, significantly fewer than the more than 250 vehicles operated there by Waymo.

Reuters testing found that wait times in Austin frequently exceeded 15 minutes, while vehicles were unavailable more than a quarter of the time.

Some Tesla robotaxis in Austin continue to carry human safety monitors in the passenger seat, although Tesla says it has increased the number of fully autonomous vehicles.

Investor Expectations vs. Reality

Tesla’s robotaxi project remains central to investor optimism surrounding the company. Much of Tesla’s massive market valuation is tied to expectations that it can successfully deploy autonomous ride-hailing services at large scale.

Musk previously predicted that Tesla robotaxis would serve half of the U.S. population by the end of 2025. However, the service is still limited to Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

Following Tesla’s latest earnings report, several analysts noted that the rollout appeared slower than expected. Musk defended the cautious expansion strategy, saying the company is prioritizing safety and aiming to avoid serious accidents.

Safety and Regulatory Attention

Austin officials say Tesla robotaxis have not been involved in any major crashes so far. However, the company has reported 15 incidents to U.S. safety regulators since August, most of them minor.

Lieutenant William White of the Austin Police Department, who oversees autonomous-vehicle safety, also raised concerns about Tesla vehicles exceeding posted speed limits during testing.

According to White, Tesla argued that driving slightly faster helped vehicles move safely with surrounding traffic. White responded that city officials would not support programming autonomous vehicles to break traffic laws.