Tesla Expands Austin Robotaxi Zone 12-Fold to Cover Entire Metro Area
TSLA•Tesla's unsupervised robotaxi service now operates across the entire Austin metro area, fully replacing the initial South Austin pilot zone. The fleet size has fluctuated between 20 and 50 vehicles, lagging far behind competitors like Waymo’s 300-unit Austin fleet, with major growth tied to FSD v15 rollout.
1. Metro-Wide Coverage
Tesla’s unsupervised robotaxi service now covers the full Austin metro area, up from a limited South Austin pilot. Each successive expansion phase has roughly doubled the service footprint since the June 2025 launch.
2. Fleet Scale and Competitors
Tesla’s unsupervised fleet peaked at 25 vehicles in April and has since hovered around 20, while Austin officials cite roughly 50 cars in operation. Competitors outpace Tesla: Waymo runs about 300 robotaxis in Austin, Avride has 317, and Zoox fields 35.
3. Dependency on FSD v15
Elon Musk has tied any meaningful fleet growth to the completion of a ground-up rebuild of Full Self-Driving software (version 15), delaying significant expansion until late 2026 or early 2027 despite a forecast for broader U.S. deployment by year-end.
