Tesla Cranks Up Robotaxi Push In Austin — Boosts Fleet Size And Coverage Ahead Of Public Launch

Some analysts view the service as more cost-effective than Uber and potentially central to Tesla’s long-term value.

Tesla said it has increased its robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, by 50% and nearly doubled the city’s service area, expanding coverage from 91 to 173 square miles. 

The move boosts the number of cars as the company prepares to open the service to all users in September.

Tesla investor and influencer Sawyer Merritt said on X that the increase likely brings the fleet size to around 25–30 vehicles. The pilot program began in June with a limited, invite-only system.

Musk has also promised a major software upgrade in the coming weeks, with Full Self-Driving (FSD) version 14 featuring 10 times more parameters and reduced driver interventions.

Tesla recently secured a transportation network company license in Texas under new regulations that take effect Sept. 1, putting autonomous ride-hail operators under the same oversight as human-driven services.

Brokerage William Blair, which trialed Tesla’s Austin service earlier this month, said the rides felt “more human-like” compared to rivals and cost about half the price of Uber, adding that Tesla’s vehicles blend into traffic without the bulky sensor arrays used by Waymo or Zoox.

ARK Invest analyst Daniel Maguire said Tesla’s scale, data advantage, and vertically integrated production position it to dominate the U.S. robotaxi market, estimating that the business could represent 90% of the company’s value by 2029.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla was ‘bullish’ amid ‘normal’ message volume.

Tesla’s stock has declined 13% so far in 2025.

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