Tesla adds San Antonio to its robotaxi rollout, leaving safety staffing unclear

Tesla has named San Antonio as its next robotaxi city, saying rides would become available at 5 a.m. local time on Monday. The announcement adds another Texas location to its service footprint, though the TechCrunch article covering Tesla’s X post does not specify the calendar date attached to that start time.

From Austin to another Texas city

Tesla began its robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025. That initial operation was limited and had human safety operators aboard. It marked the company’s move from promises about autonomous vehicles to a passenger service, while retaining an onboard human role.

Before the San Antonio announcement, Tesla’s robotaxi network already covered limited areas of Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, alongside Austin. The geographic list describes a growing footprint, not citywide coverage: operations in those additional markets remain confined to parts of each city.

Fleet sizes also differ across those markets. TechCrunch cited Texas vehicle registration data and Robotaxi Tracker in describing fleets outside Austin that ranged from a handful of cars to a few dozen. The tracker’s examples put Fort Worth at 24 vehicles and Miami at five.

San Antonio’s operating setup remains open

For San Antonio, Tesla supplied a starting hour rather than a full operating schedule. It did not say what hours rides would run, whether customers would travel in its two-seat Cybercab as well as modified Model Y vehicles, or whether human safety monitors would be aboard.

The distinction between a robotaxi label and a driverless trip is visible elsewhere in Tesla’s business. Its San Francisco Bay Area ride-hailing service uses human drivers behind the wheel, despite the vehicles often being described as robotaxis. Tesla does not hold the permits required to operate driverless ride-hailing in California.