Tesla launches Dallas, Houston robotaxi; no rides
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- Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Dallas and Houston, expanding beyond Austin for the first time since that.
- Robotaxi Tracker data shows 0%–2% availability in the new markets over the past 24 hours, with only brief spikes to about 50% and a single vehicle reported in each city.
- Tesla’s unsupervised robotaxi fleet in Austin still runs with roughly a dozen vehicles, relies heavily on safety monitors, and has logged 15 crashes to NHTSA—a crash rate about four times higher than human drivers.
- Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings, due April 22, are expected to disappoint, with deliveries at 358,023 units, below analyst consensus and down from Q4 2025, while the stock trades near $400 with a forward P/E of roughly 178.
- Tesla has a history of timing robotaxi announcements before earnings calls, such as the January 2026 Austin launch that lifted the stock 4% ahead of the Q4 2025 earnings call.
Why it matters: Investors see a temporary stock bump before the Q1 earnings call, while consumers and regulators face a service that is not truly operational and a crash rate four times higher than human drivers, and could affect the company’s valuation that on its AI promises.
