The gap between what Tesla advertises and what it actually delivers could leave riders waiting longer than expected. Recently, a Tesla Robotaxi app quoted a 43-minute ride for a trip of just blocks in downtown Houston, according to former employee Ethan McKanna.
Here's what to know
The company announced the expansion by stating, "Houston, we have liftoff," and shaping its service boundary like a rocket, stretching from its launch zone in northwest Harris County toward downtown and Bellaire, Electrek reported.
Some downtown pickup locations inside the published boundary proved unavailable to McKanna. He is also the creator of the crowdsourced Robotaxi Tracker site.
"Location not available. Move the map to select a different location," the app stated in response to multiple dropped pickup pins, as Electrek relayed.
In another X post, McKanna shared a quote that showed a 2:05 p.m. pickup and a 2:48 p.m. arrival at a location blocks away.
More background
The proposed route went southwest through Midtown, the Museum District, and the Medical Center before heading back northeast.
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McKanna theorized that the Robotaxi was avoiding downtown railroad crossings, a possibility he connected to "other strange routing in Houston."
He said: "Often AV service area maps advertised are kind of fake — they don't actually go to everywhere in the polygon the provider publishes. Robotaxi Houston is probably by far the most egregious 'fake' AV service area I've seen."
What's being done?
The Robotaxi Tracker documents discrepancies between advertised coverage and the trips riders can book.
Its checks aren't limited to Tesla. On Oct. 27, the tracker reported the removal of 10 square miles from Waymo's listed coverage area for Orlando, Florida, reducing the area by 8.4% to 109 square miles, Electrek reported.
The discrepancy centered on the airport, which appeared within Waymo's published map even though McKanna's app check showed it couldn't be selected as a drop-off location. The tracker corrected its own listing, but that change didn't establish that Waymo had withdrawn an operating service.
In Houston, McKanna said he expected Tesla to fix the routing issue. That expectation, however, was not a company commitment.
Reasonable wait times were a positive part of McKanna's account. His assessment included praise for the service alongside his concerns about the map and routing.
"Other than the apparent railroad avoidance downtown, the service feels really good in Houston," he wrote. "Reasonable wait times, big service area, and significantly better driving than my recent Waymo rides."
Where can I learn more?
Tesla's Robotaxi rollout in Texas has raised other questions, too.
• Cybercab rides featured odd stops and jittery driving.
• An unsupervised Robotaxi stopped for bollards, then hit them anyway.
• Tesla offered Cybercab rides after its Robotaxi license had expired.
• The Cybercab launch drew a federal safety audit, adding scrutiny to the rollout.
• Critics question whether the robotaxi economics added up as Tesla pitched Cybercab fleets.
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