{"id":"68771967-fe05-4fb1-a565-7d3521cbbf9e","modelId":"29951756-3e69-44e2-bc13-aa01909c0098","versionId":null,"locationId":"360f0034-a348-409b-b804-fdbf8b23794b","operatorId":null,"ownerId":null,"slug":"tesla-robotaxi-houston","status":"active","firstSeen":"2026-04-18T00:00:00.000Z","manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/04/18/tesla-robotaxi-launches-dallas-houston-small-geofences/","label":"Tesla robotaxi Houston launch Apr 18 2026, ~25 sq mi, rain-limited, no fleet details","title":"Tesla robotaxi Houston launch Apr 18 2026, ~25 sq mi, rain-limited, no fleet details","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-04-18"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/05/26/tesla-robotaxi-fleet-shrinking-not-growing/","label":"Houston stuck at 3 active vehicles since launch","title":"Houston stuck at 3 active vehicles since launch","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-05-26"}],"notes":"Operator: Tesla, robotaxi ride-hailing service launched in Houston on April 18, 2026 — part of Tesla's first expansion beyond Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area. The initial geofence covers approximately 25 square miles (per early user analysis of Tesla's published maps). Tesla disclosed no fleet size, supervision status, or pricing at launch; vehicles are likely Model Ys with in-car safety monitors. As of late May 2026, Robotaxi Tracker reported ~3 active unsupervised vehicles in Houston — unchanged from launch. Notably, the service shuts down during rain, a meaningful limitation given Houston averages 100+ rainy days per year.\n\nContext: Waymo has operated in Houston since February 2026 with fully driverless vehicles. Figures are attributed to Tesla's announcement and Robotaxi Tracker, not independently audited.","keyFacts":[{"label":"Launched","value":"April 18, 2026"},{"label":"Geofence","value":"~25 sq mi"},{"label":"Active vehicles","value":"~3 (May 2026, per Robotaxi Tracker) — unchanged since launch"},{"label":"Limitation","value":"Service suspends in rain (Houston: 100+ rainy days/yr)"}],"reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T23:47:36.443Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-26T23:47:52.947Z","model":{"id":"29951756-3e69-44e2-bc13-aa01909c0098","companyId":"bde7c8a1-5d35-449d-93b0-2ac8e4601c16","modelName":"Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS)","slug":"tesla-robotaxi","description":"Tesla's robotaxi service vehicle — a 2026 Model Y operating with Tesla's Autonomous Driving System (ADS, based on Full Self-Driving) engaged. In Austin, some vehicles operate unsupervised (no in-car safety monitor); in the Bay Area, a safety driver is present as required by California law. A teleoperator can remotely assist/pilot a vehicle at speeds under 10 mph for repositioning. Tesla's purpose-built, steering-wheel-free Cybercab — intended as the dedicated robotaxi vehicle at scale — was expected to begin production around April 2026 (not yet the deployed service vehicle as of early 2026). Maturity: pilot (early commercial service under heavy supervision and scrutiny; not yet at-scale).","formFactor":"av","maturityStage":"pilot","specs":{},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://robotaxi-safety-tracker.com/expansion.html","label":"2026 Model Y w/ ADS; unsupervised Austin vs supervised Bay Area; teleoperator <10mph; Cybercab production ~Apr 2026","title":"2026 Model Y w/ ADS; unsupervised Austin vs supervised Bay Area; teleoperator <10mph; Cybercab production ~Apr 2026","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Robotaxi Safety Tracker","publishedAt":"2026-02-04"}],"aliases":["Tesla Robotaxi","Tesla Model Y robotaxi"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T17:23:16.405Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-26T17:23:31.412Z","company":{"id":"bde7c8a1-5d35-449d-93b0-2ac8e4601c16","name":"Tesla","slug":"tesla","description":"Electric-vehicle and AI company (NASDAQ: TSLA), founded 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a physical-AI program spanning three robotics fronts: a robotaxi ride-hailing service, the Optimus humanoid robot, and the forthcoming purpose-built Cybercab.\n\nRobotaxi: Tesla launched robotaxi service in Austin in July 2025 and operates in two markets as of early 2026 — Austin (unsupervised; some vehicles run without an in-car safety monitor, ~72 vehicles) and the San Francisco Bay Area (supervised, with safety drivers as required by California law, ~168 vehicles), for roughly 240+ robotaxis total. The vehicles are 2026 Model Y cars running Tesla's Full Self-Driving / Autonomous Driving System. At its Q4 2025 earnings call (January 2026), Tesla announced plans to expand to seven additional US cities (Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas) in H1 2026 — forward plans pending regulatory approval, not current deployments. The Austin operation carries a federally-mandated crash-reporting record (17 NHTSA-reported incidents July 2025–March 2026, including two teleoperator-caused crashes; zero major crashes and no citations per Austin PD), and NHTSA has separately inquired into videos of erratic driving.\n\nOptimus: Tesla's humanoid robot, with Gen 3 mass production commencing at the Fremont factory on January 21, 2026. Notably, at the January 2026 earnings call Musk admitted that as of then zero Optimus robots were doing 'useful work' in Tesla's factories — units at Fremont and Giga Texas are in a supervised learning and data-collection phase, not yet performing productive autonomous manufacturing work. Tesla committed $20B+ in 2026 capex toward Optimus, plans to convert its Fremont Model S/X lines to Optimus manufacturing (toward a stated 1-million-unit/year capacity by end-2026), and is constructing a dedicated Giga Texas facility — all production-capacity ambitions, with first productive internal deployment projected for late 2026 to 2027.\n\nCybercab: a purpose-built, steering-wheel-free dedicated robotaxi vehicle, with production expected to begin around April 2026 — not yet the deployed service vehicle as of early 2026.\n\nTesla's physical-AI program operates under intense regulatory and public scrutiny, and is notable for the gap between its publicly stated targets and demonstrated results.","status":"public","founded":2003,"hq":"Austin, Texas, USA","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tesla.com/we-robot","label":"Tesla — Optimus","title":"Tesla — Optimus","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Tesla","publishedAt":"2026-01-01"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_(robot)","label":"Optimus (robot) — Wikipedia","title":"Optimus (robot) — Wikipedia","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Wikipedia","publishedAt":"2026-01-01"},{"id":"1d8de986-2997-4108-846b-fa0e891bbaca","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/waymo-halts-freeway-rides-after-robotaxis-struggle-in-construction-zones/","label":"Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones","title":"Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Transportation & Auto News | TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-21T22:15:00.000Z"},{"url":"https://robotaxi-safety-tracker.com/expansion.html","label":"Tesla robotaxi — Austin (unsupervised) + Bay Area (supervised), ~240 vehicles, 7 announced cities, Cybercab","title":"Tesla robotaxi — Austin (unsupervised) + Bay Area (supervised), ~240 vehicles, 7 announced cities, Cybercab","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Robotaxi Safety Tracker","publishedAt":"2026-02-04"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tesla-robotaxi-austin-14-crashes-nhtsa/","label":"Tesla robotaxi Austin launch, expansion plans, NHTSA erratic-driving inquiry","title":"Tesla robotaxi Austin launch, expansion plans, NHTSA erratic-driving inquiry","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"CBS News","publishedAt":"2026-02-17"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/15/tesla-reveals-two-robotaxi-crashes-involving-teleoperators/","label":"Tesla's two teleoperator-caused robotaxi crashes; 17 NHTSA incidents unredacted","title":"Tesla's two teleoperator-caused robotaxi crashes; 17 NHTSA incidents unredacted","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-15"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/04/22/tesla-optimus-production-fremont-model-sx-line/","label":"Musk admits zero Optimus doing useful work; Fremont Model S/X line conversion to Optimus","title":"Musk admits zero Optimus doing useful work; Fremont Model S/X line conversion to Optimus","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-04-22"},{"url":"https://www.basenor.com/blogs/news/tesla-robotaxi-austin-safety-record-what-nhtsa-data-shows","label":"Tesla Austin NHTSA safety record — 17 incidents, zero major crashes, evenhanded breakdown","title":"Tesla Austin NHTSA safety record — 17 incidents, zero major crashes, evenhanded breakdown","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Basenor","publishedAt":"2026-05-19"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/05/26/tesla-robotaxi-fleet-shrinking-not-growing/","label":"Tesla robotaxi active fleet shrinking (34 total/20 unsupervised, May 2026); safety bottleneck","title":"Tesla robotaxi active fleet shrinking (34 total/20 unsupervised, May 2026); safety bottleneck","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-05-26"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/04/18/tesla-robotaxi-launches-dallas-houston-small-geofences/","label":"Tesla robotaxi Dallas/Houston launch; fleet ~80 Austin; transparency/redaction record","title":"Tesla robotaxi Dallas/Houston launch; fleet ~80 Austin; transparency/redaction record","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-04-18"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Robotaxi fleet","value":"~240+ vehicles (Austin ~72 unsupervised; Bay Area ~168 supervised)"},{"label":"Robotaxi launch","value":"Austin, July 2025"},{"label":"Robotaxi vehicle","value":"2026 Model Y (FSD/ADS)"},{"label":"Announced expansion","value":"7 cities, H1 2026 (plans, pending approval)"},{"label":"Austin safety record","value":"17 NHTSA incidents; zero major crashes / no citations (Austin PD)"},{"label":"Optimus production","value":"Gen 3 mass production started Jan 21, 2026 (Fremont)"},{"label":"Optimus reality check","value":"Musk (Jan 2026): zero doing 'useful work' yet"},{"label":"Optimus capacity target","value":"1M units/yr by end-2026 (plan); $20B+ 2026 capex"},{"label":"Cybercab","value":"Production expected ~April 2026 (not yet deployed)"}],"aliases":["Tesla Inc","Tesla Motors"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T17:24:17.509Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-26T23:47:35.061Z"}},"version":null,"location":{"id":"360f0034-a348-409b-b804-fdbf8b23794b","name":"Houston","slug":"houston","kind":"city","parentLocationId":null,"lat":null,"lng":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":["Houston, TX"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T23:06:45.286Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T23:07:17.164Z"},"operator":null,"owner":null,"derived":{"trustTier":"unverified","currentPosture":null}}