Tesla opens Robotaxi in San Antonio with a 274 sq mi zone on paper

Tesla opens Robotaxi in San Antonio with a 274 sq mi zone on paper

9 November 2026: Tesla has opened its Robotaxi service in San Antonio, Texas, with a launch area of about 274 square miles, more than four times the 59 square miles Waymo serves in the same city. Tesla's Robotaxi account announced just after midnight local time on 9 November that rides would be "available in San Antonio starting tomorrow, 5am", with a map of what it called the launch geofence.

Not yet independently verified. Tesla's own announcement is quoted from its Robotaxi account by Electrek; tesla.com refused our requests. Electrek and Mashable count the cities differently and give 274 and 273 square miles. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What the map covers

According to Electrek, the zone runs from Loop 1604 in the north to just below downtown. Figures from the independent Robotaxi Tracker put it at about 274 square miles, covering roughly one million residents, 51% of the metro area, and 721,000 jobs. Mashable gives 273 square miles. San Antonio's airport sits inside the polygon but is not served.

The fleet at launch is the Tesla Model Y; the purpose-built Cybercab is not yet in service, Mashable reports. Neither report says how many cars are running or whether a safety monitor rides in them, and Robotaxi Tracker had logged no Tesla rides in San Antonio by Monday morning.

A larger map than the service behind it

Electrek points to independent address checks published on 3 November by Koby Pierce, which tested where the app accepts pickups in Tesla's existing cities. The share of each advertised zone that actually accepted pickups was about 59% in Austin, 61% in Miami, 70% in Orlando, 72% in Fort Worth, 74% in Houston and 78% in Dallas.

So the size of a launch map says little about where a ride can be booked. Austin, Tesla's first city, now has a zone of 443 square miles, up 178 square miles since mid-September, according to Electrek.

Against Waymo in the same city

Waymo began driverless rides in San Antonio in February with more than 60 square miles and opened the service to all riders in October, including trips to the airport. The tracker lists its area at 59 square miles. For a rider, the difference today is reach on paper against a smaller zone that includes the airport.

Mashable lists Tesla's service in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Fort Worth, Orlando, San Antonio and Tampa, with Jacksonville, Las Vegas and Phoenix shown as coming soon on Tesla's site. It calls San Antonio Tesla's fifth Texas city; Electrek calls it the eighth city overall.

We list Tesla among our car makers, its Model Y among our electric cars, and Waymo among 15 autonomous vehicle operators.

Sources

• Electrek: Tesla launches Robotaxi in San Antonio with a 274 sq mi geofence on paper, 9 November 2026, 9 November 2026
• Mashable: Tesla Robotaxi launches in San Antonio, 10 November 2026, 10 November 2026