{
  "id": 19148114,
  "title": "Tesla expands robotaxi service to San Antonio",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/tesla-expands-robotaxi-service-to-san-antonio",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-09T11:30:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechCrunch",
    "slug": "techcrunch",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/09/tesla-expands-robotaxi-service-to-san-antonio/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tesla is expanding its robotaxi service to San Antonio, Texas, as part of its strategy to rival Waymo and establish itself beyond being just an automaker. The company announced the move on X, specifying that the robotaxis will be available starting at 5 a.m. local time on Monday. However, Tesla did not provide further details about the service, such as operating hours, vehicle selection, or the presence of human safety monitors. If Tesla follows its past launch approach, it will begin with a small fleet in a limited service area before gradually expanding.\n\nElon Musk has been promising autonomous vehicles from Tesla for over a decade, and the company launched a robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025. This launch, though limited and with human safety operators on board, was a significant milestone for Tesla, testing the feasibility of deploying self-driving cars using only cameras and end-to-end AI. Since then, Tesla has been gradually expanding its robotaxi service, removing safety monitors in Austin in January and extending its operations to Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. Currently, it operates in limited areas of San Antonio as well.\n\nWaymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, also operates a robotaxi service in San Antonio using a combination of Jaguar I-Pace and Zeekr RT vehicles, branded Ojai. After a five-month pause due to incidents involving flooded roadways, Waymo recently restarted its services in the city. Tesla has over 400 autonomous vehicles in its Austin fleet, while its fleets in other cities range from a handful to a few dozen, according to Texas vehicle registration data and the Robotaxi Tracker website. Tesla also operates a ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area under a transportation charter permit, though not for driverless operations in California.\n\nDespite this expansion effort, Tesla released data in July showing that its robotaxi network recorded fewer paying customer miles in the second quarter compared to the first, as reported by TechCrunch.",
  "summary": "This will be the fourth Texas city in which Tesla will launch robotaxis.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}