Tesla has extended the area covered by its Robotaxi in Austin again. This third expansion puts the driverless taxi service ahead of rival Waymo.
Tesla is trying to penetrate new cities with its Robotaxi business in the US. The company, however, is still expanding in the first launch city as it adds more square miles.
Tesla launched its Robotaxi service in Austin in June, initially operating within a 20-square-mile geo-fenced area. It then doubled the coverage zone in July before adding another 40 square miles early in August. The latest addition brings the geo-fenced area to about 170 square miles. This means the service has sprawled out almost eightfold since it went live.
Bee Cave, where validation Robotaxi vehicles were recently sighted, is now one of the serviced areas, in addition to Tesla’s Gigafactory.
Meanwhile, Tesla is in talks to launch Robotaxi in other cities, including Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. The automaker has posted job openings for Robotaxi operators in New York, suggesting an imminent rollout in the Big Apple.
In comparison, Tesla is now way ahead of Waymo. The Google-backed competitor boasts only 90 square miles in Austin following its latest coverage area expansion.
Tesla’s Robotaxi operates in California in a vast 80-mile geo-fenced zone, despite the limitation of keeping a safety operator in the front passenger seat.
