Tesla expands service area of unsupervised robotaxis in Austin

Tesla said in an X post on Wednesday that robotaxi rides without a human operator are now available in the "entire Austin Metro area." The expansion comes as the company continues to play catch-up with competitors. About six months after Tesla began removing human monitors who watched for safety incidents, the company has shown greater confidence in its self-driving technology.

Tesla did not say whether the new coverage area will include more unsupervised cars. Growing the fleet would be important to reduce wait times and improve reliability. Users have reported volatile ETAs, and the app told San Francisco-based users on a Wednesday afternoon that it was experiencing "high service demand." Tesla also has not significantly expanded its robotaxi fleet in Austin since the service rolled out last June, when cars carried a human monitor in the front passenger seat.

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