New state registration records published this week show only 42 Tesla $TSLA vehicles authorized for autonomous ridehailing in Texas — a count that amounts to less than a tenth of what rival Waymo has deployed there.
A new Texas law that took effect Thursday created the database, Bloomberg reports, compelling companies that test or deploy autonomous vehicles in the state to submit fleet counts and other safety disclosures to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google $GOOGL, submitted registrations for 577 vehicles — a figure that dwarfs Tesla's by a ratio of more than 13 to one, according to CNBC.
Tesla also sits behind several smaller operators in the state's registry, according to TechCrunch. Avride logged 317 vehicles, Nuro registered 47, and Amazon $AMZN's Zoox filed for 35.
The data marks the first official public accounting of Tesla's Texas fleet size. Under the prior regulatory framework, according to CNBC, the state exercised minimal oversight of autonomous vehicle operators, with requirements limited to basic insurance coverage, onboard cameras, and the ability to obey traffic laws.
Among its other provisions, the law mandates that operators submit a self-certification attesting that their vehicles reach SAE Level 4 — the designation for systems capable of handling typical driving conditions entirely on their own. That threshold has long been met by Waymo's vehicles, but the certification raises questions about Tesla's filings. In past regulatory submissions, Tesla characterized the majority of its cars as Level 2 driver-assistance systems, and the company has offered no explanation of the methodology behind its Level 4 self-certifications for the Texas fleet. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Tesla launched its Robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025 with safety monitors on board, then removed them in Jan. 2026. The service has since expanded to Dallas and Houston. Third-party tracking data cited by Yahoo puts about 30 of those vehicles in Austin running fully driverless, while the other 12 are divided across Dallas and Houston.
The fleet's current size falls far short of targets Tesla CEO Elon Musk set before the service launched. Before the service launched, Musk told a CNBC interviewer that the fleet would hit 1,000 cars within months. He later assured investors that Austin by itself would host 500 robotaxis before 2026 arrived, according to Bloomberg.
Federal safety filings covering the period from July 2025 through April 2026 documented 17 incidents involving Tesla's Austin robotaxis, according to CNBC. Two resulted in minor injuries and a third sent someone to the hospital; all took place when a human supervisor was riding along.
Nationally, Waymo’s paid robotaxi network includes nearly 4,000 vehicles. In Texas, the company has commercial service in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.