TL;DR
Texas DMV records show Tesla has 42 robotaxis vs Waymo’s 577. Tesla self-certified as Level 4 despite previously claiming Level 2.
Tesla has 42 autonomous vehicles authorised for driverless ridehailing in Texas. Waymo has 577. The figures were published in an online database on 28 May as a new Texas law took effect giving the state greater oversight of commercial driverless vehicle operators.
Tesla’s fleet is less than one-tenth the size of Waymo’s in the same state. AV Ride, a smaller operator, has 317 authorised vehicles. Amazon’s Zoox has 35. The database makes fleet sizes public record for the first time.
The new law requires operators to self-certify that their vehicles are Level 4 autonomous, meaning they can operate without a human driver on board in normal weather and on typical roads. Waymo has long classified its robotaxis as Level 4. Tesla has told regulators that most of its cars feature Level 2 driver assistance systems.
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Tesla has not disclosed how it came to self-certify any of its Austin fleet as Level 4. The company did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. The gap between Level 2 (driver must supervise at all times) and Level 4 (no driver needed) is the most consequential classification in autonomous driving.
Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi-branded service in Austin since June 2025. The fleet experienced 17 known incidents between July 2025 and April 2026, according to NHTSA records. Two involved minor injuries, with one requiring hospitalisation. All incidents occurred while human safety supervisors were on board.
Reuters reported this week that seven of nine former Tesla data labelers would not ride in a vehicle operating on FSD. The workers who trained the self-driving software described routine speeding and system failures that engineers treated as low priority.
Waymo’s own operations have not been problem-free. The company paused service in five US cities this month after its robotaxis drove into standing water despite a software recall designed to prevent exactly that. But Waymo has a commercial fleet of nearly 4,000 vehicles nationwide and provides more than 500,000 paid trips per week. The scale difference is not incremental. It is structural.
Tesla is counting on driverless cars to fuel future growth as competition in the EV market intensifies. The company confirmed FSD availability in China last week, though it remains unclear whether consumers can activate it. FSD (Supervised) is classified as Level 2 in China. The self-certification as Level 4 in Texas raises the question of whether the same vehicles have different capability levels in different jurisdictions.
Tesla has filed for driverless testing permits in Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. It has not yet begun paid driverless rides in any of those states. Musk has repeatedly promised that fully autonomous driving is imminent. The Texas database suggests the reality is 42 cars in one city.
Waymo is expanding rapidly. It recently opened service in Ojai, California, and plans to launch in San Diego, Las Vegas, and Detroit this year. The company aims to reach one million paid rides per week by the end of 2026. Tesla’s target for the same period has not been disclosed.
The Texas database will be updated as operators add or remove vehicles. It provides the first objective, government-verified comparison of fleet sizes in a state where both companies operate. The numbers do not lie. Tesla’s robotaxi ambition is real. Its fleet is not yet competitive with the company it needs to beat.
