Services in Austin
Tesla Open to the public
Some rides with no one in the driver’s seat · Book in: Tesla Robotaxi app · Since June 2025
About 272 sq mi covering most of greater Austin, including Pflugerville and Manor (Nov 2026) · Airport: Austin-Bergstrom (AUS) has been in the map since Aug 2025; the app sets the pickup point · Uses freeways
Opened in June 2025 to invited riders with a monitor in the passenger seat; rides with nobody aboard began in Jan 2026 and Cybercabs joined in Sept 2026. Tesla does not say whether any cars still carry a monitor, and trackers disagree.
Sources: Tesla, November 8, 2026; Not a Tesla App, November 5, 2026; Tesla North America Guide (tslna.com), October 14, 2026; Not a Tesla App, August 31, 2026; CNBC, June 23, 2025. Checked November 8, 2026.
Waymo Open to the public
No one in the driver’s seat · Book in: Uber app · Since March 2025
37 sq mi at launch (Hyde Park, Downtown, Montopolis), enlarged north and south in July 2025 and again in May 2026 · Uses freeways
Rides only through Uber (UberX, Uber Electric, Comfort, Comfort Electric); Waymo has told Uber it will add its own app here in January 2028 while staying on Uber through at least May 2028.
Sources: Waymo, November 8, 2026; CBS Austin, September 23, 2026; The Next Web, July 25, 2026; Electrek, May 13, 2026; Uber Newsroom, March 4, 2025. Checked November 8, 2026.
Zoox Invited riders
No one in the driver’s seat · Book in: Zoox app · Since March 2026
A small busy ride-hail area south of central Austin
Only Zoox employees (and later their family and friends) ride so far; the public Explorers programme was promised for later in 2026.
Sources: The Charge Port, October 25, 2026; TechCrunch, March 24, 2026; CBS Austin, March 24, 2026. Checked November 8, 2026.
Cruise Ended
No one in the driver’s seat · Book in: Cruise app · Ran until October 2023
Cruise was charging for driverless rides here when it halted all driverless operations on 26 Oct 2023; GM ended the business in Dec 2024.
Sources: Reuters (via The Star), December 11, 2024; TechCrunch, October 26, 2023. Checked November 8, 2026.
What changed
Tesla, Austin: Tracker update: Austin zone about 272 sq mi and Houston about 254 sq mi after late-October expansions (Not a Tesla App)
Waymo, Austin: Began freeway trips on select Uber rides (CBS Austin)
Tesla, Austin: Put Cybercabs into the Austin robotaxi fleet (Tesla, Inc. via SEC EDGAR)
Waymo, Austin: Waymo told Uber it will launch its own app here in January 2028 (The Next Web)
Tesla, Austin: Extended unsupervised rides to the whole Austin metro area (Electrek)
Waymo, Austin: Announced a service-area expansion within weeks, as the network heads past 1,400 sq mi (Waymo)
Zoox, Austin: Started robotaxi rides for employees only (CBS Austin)
Tesla, Austin: Began some public rides with no safety monitor in the car (CNBC)
Tesla, Austin: Dropped the Robotaxi app waitlist for iPhone users, opening rides in Austin and the Bay Area to the public (Not a Tesla App)
Waymo, Austin: Expanded the Uber service area north and south (Waymo)
Tesla, Austin: Began invite-only robotaxi rides with a safety monitor in the passenger seat (CNBC)
Waymo, Austin: Rides began on the Uber app across 37 sq mi (Uber Newsroom)
Latest news from Austin
- Waymo robotaxis kept illegally passing school buses after software fix, feds say
- Lyft to Expand Waymo Robotaxi Fleet in Nashville by Year-End
- Researcher Maps Where Tesla Robotaxis Can Actually Pick Up Passengers
- Waymo confirms it’s shaking up its Uber relationship in January 2028
- Wrong-lane Waymo leaves Tesla Cybercab sandwiched between two Waymos in Austin