A Tesla robot taxi rides down the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, June 22, 2025.
Joel Angel Juarez | Reuters
tesla The company currently has 42 self-driving cars approved for driverless ride-hailing in Texas, less than one-tenth of Waymo’s fleet in the state.
waymo, of the alphabet Texas’ self-driving vehicle business has 577 licensed robotaxis, according to new records available on the state Department of Transportation’s website.
The records were made public in an online database on May 28 as a new law giving Texas more power over commercial driverless vehicle operators took effect. Texas law previously allowed AVs to be tested and operated on roadways “as long as they meet the same safety and insurance requirements as all other vehicles on the road.”
The new law requires self-driving vehicle operators such as Tesla and Waymo to self-certify that their vehicles are Level 4 autonomous vehicles according to standards set by SAE. Level 4 generally means that the AV can operate in normal weather and on normal roads without a human driver on board.
Waymo has long counted its robotaxis as Level 4, while Tesla has told regulators that most of its cars have Level 2 driver-assistance systems.
Tesla has been operating a robotaxi-branded service in Texas since June 2025, but has not disclosed details about how it came to self-certify its fleet as Level 4. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Tesla is counting on self-driving cars to fuel much of its future growth as it faces increasing competition in the electric vehicle market and CEO Elon Musk looks to prove himself at the forefront of artificial intelligence and robotics.
But Tesla is nowhere near Waymo. Waymo has a fleet of nearly 4,000 commercial vehicles across the United States and is rapidly expanding paid services into new markets.
In Texas, Tesla also lags behind AV Ride, a smaller company with 317 self-driving cars licensed in the state, according to the DMV. AmazonZoox was 35.
Tesla’s Austin vehicles have had 17 known accidents between July 2025 and April 2026, including two that resulted in minor injuries and one that required hospitalization, according to records filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These incidents occurred while human safety supervisors were on board.
Tesla has applied for permission to test driverless cars in Arizona, Nevada and Florida, but has not yet begun offering paid driverless rides in those states.
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