Tesla’s ambitious robotaxi expansion into Dallas and Houston has hit significant roadblocks, according to recent testing by Reuters journalists who experienced extensive delays and service limitations in both Texas cities.
While some investors viewed last month’s announcement of the service expansion as progress toward CEO Elon Musk’s goal of transforming Tesla into an artificial intelligence and autonomous driving leader, real-world testing revealed the technology still faces major challenges.
During a recent Monday afternoon test in Dallas, a Reuters journalist spent almost two hours completing what should have been a 20-minute journey from Southern Methodist University to Dallas City Hall – a distance of roughly 5 miles via major highway.
The testing began at 4:55 p.m. when the reporter attempted to book a ride through Tesla’s robotaxi application, which functions similarly to Uber. Instead of finding available vehicles, the app displayed a “high service demand” notification. Meanwhile, Uber showed an 8-minute wait for a 22-minute trip to the same destination.
For the following 30 minutes, repeated booking attempts resulted in either the high-demand warning or “no rides available nearby” messages. After 36 minutes of searching, a vehicle finally appeared with a 19-minute estimated wait time.
Tesla’s massive $1.6 trillion market valuation – exceeding five times that of any competing automaker – largely depends on investor confidence that the company will soon deploy widespread robotaxi fleets. Musk has claimed Tesla’s autonomous driving capabilities “work anywhere” and has criticized the more methodical strategy used by Alphabet’s Waymo, which conducts detailed mapping and comprehensive testing before launching in new markets.
In July, Musk projected that Tesla robotaxis would reach half of America’s population by late 2025. However, the service currently operates only in Dallas, Houston, and Austin, where Tesla began its initial robotaxi pilot program in June of last year.
Several analysts noted following Tesla’s April 22 first-quarter earnings announcement that robotaxi expansion was proceeding more slowly than anticipated. During that earnings call, Musk stated the company was adopting a “cautious approach” to prevent injuries or deaths.
Once the Dallas reporter was finally picked up, the vehicle avoided North Central Expressway – the primary route to downtown – instead taking nearly 35 minutes traveling on local streets. The car ultimately dropped the passenger at a parking area requiring a 15-minute walk to City Hall.
When the rider contacted support through the vehicle’s system, an agent explained the area was “restricted,” despite being within the Dallas service zone Tesla had promoted on social media the previous month. “We’re still in the beta version,” the agent acknowledged.
Additional downtown trips revealed similar problems. The app consistently showed drop-off locations requiring approximately 15-minute walks to reach actual destinations. During one trip to a downtown farmers’ market, the robotaxi deposited the reporter across a freeway, suggesting he walk beneath overpasses littered with debris and reeking of urine.
On another journey, the robotaxi repeatedly failed to execute a left turn, missing the maneuver four times. The intersection, located near a freeway exit ramp with “do not enter” signage, appeared to confuse the vehicle’s systems. Instead of turning left, the car continued straight and made right turns to circle the block, but kept missing the required left turn.
After the reporter contacted a remote operator about the situation, the vehicle eventually completed the turn successfully.
In Houston, Tesla operates robotaxis within a limited suburban zone on the city’s northwest side. Another Reuters reporter testing the service on a weeknight managed to secure one ride. When attempting a second trip, the same vehicle appeared 13 minutes away, but the app subsequently canceled the ride.
Despite trying for an additional 30 minutes, no vehicles became available, forcing the reporter to use Uber instead.
Even in Austin, where Tesla’s service has operated for nearly a year, customers frequently encounter wait times exceeding 30 minutes.
According to a recent presentation by Austin city officials, Tesla operates approximately 50 vehicles in the city, compared to Waymo’s fleet of more than 250 vehicles in Austin.
Some Austin Tesla robotaxis still include human safety monitors seated in the front passenger area. While Tesla reports increasing the number of fully autonomous vehicles in Austin, the company hasn’t provided specific numbers.
A Reuters reporter in Austin conducted three weeks of monitoring in April, checking Tesla robotaxi wait times eight times daily from morning through evening. Wait times exceeded 15 minutes approximately half the time and reached at least 25 minutes in more than 25% of checks. No vehicles were available at all in 27% of instances.
Austin Police Lieutenant William White, who supervises autonomous vehicle safety for the city, reports that Tesla has experienced no major crashes and received no traffic citations in Austin.
Since August, Tesla has filed 15 crash reports in Austin with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as required for autonomous vehicle operators even for minor incidents. Most involved no injuries, though one resulted in a hospital visit.
Unlike other autonomous vehicle companies, Tesla has requested that regulators redact all crash details.
White describes Tesla as generally cooperative with city inquiries but notes one concern: Tesla robotaxis consistently ignore posted speed limits. During test rides last year, he observed vehicles regularly traveling 5 mph above speed limits.
White said company representatives told him it was safer for vehicles to match traffic flow. White responded to Tesla: “At no time would we ever advocate that you program your vehicles to speed.”
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment regarding this story.
