Tesla's Texas Robotaxi Fleet Shrinks to 42 Vehicles, Far Behind Waymo

Tesla’s robotaxi service in Texas operates only 42 vehicles, according to filings with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles released in late May 2026. This count is less than one‑tenth of Waymo’s 577 authorized autonomous taxis in the state, highlighting a stark gap between the two rivals. Tesla self‑certified its robotaxi software as Level 4 autonomous under a new Texas law that permits commercial driverless services, but the fleet remains modest and confined to Austin, Dallas and Houston.

The service, launched in June 2025 with safety monitors in the front passenger seat, has faced safety scrutiny. Reuters reports that former AI trainers at Tesla say they do not trust the Full Self‑Driving (FSD) system, noting incidents where the software hit animals, failed to brake, and missed emergency vehicles. The investigation found Tesla’s safety statistics inflated by comparing air‑bag‑deployment crashes only to broader federal data, overstating safety by roughly threefold. Seventeen known incidents involving the Texas robotaxis have been recorded, two resulting in minor injuries.

Tesla’s earlier promises of a fleet of up to 1,000 vehicles in Austin were scaled back, and the current fleet of under‑50 cars underscores the challenges of scaling fully autonomous ride‑hailing. Waymo, by contrast, operates thousands of driverless cars nationwide and over 500 in Texas, cementing its lead in the emerging autonomous‑vehicle market.