Image: @Waymo on X
Waymo announced on Thursday that it’s expanding its all-electric autonomous robotaxi service area in Austin, Texas — a move that appears to be a direct response to Tesla’s recent expansion in the same city.
Tesla just doubled its Robotaxi coverage in Austin earlier this week, stretching its geofence into an oddly phallic-shaped area. That boost made Tesla’s autonomous pilot footprint 3.9 square miles bigger than Waymo’s — until now. Waymo has fired back, revealing its own geofence expansion that now spans from North to South Austin, one-upping Tesla.
“North to South, we’re covering more ground in Austin starting today,” Waymo said in a post on X. “Safe and fully autonomous Waymo rides, only on @Uber. See you on the road, ATX.”
The timing is no coincidence. Tesla only launched its limited Robotaxi pilot in Austin less than a month ago, and the rivalry between the two companies in the fully driverless space is quickly heating up. Tesla’s service still isn’t available to the public beyond registered Early Access testers and select insiders, while Waymo rides can be booked directly through Uber, making them far more accessible.
Waymo also recently crossed a massive milestone — 100 million real-world, fully autonomous miles driven on public roads. “That’s more than 200 trips to the Moon and back,” the company said in a celebratory tweet on July 15. The figure cements Waymo’s lead in operational experience in the increasingly competitive robotaxi landscape.
Austin is quickly becoming the front line of the robotaxi wars. And while Tesla’s new coverage area may have looked… suggestive, Waymo’s latest move proves it isn’t backing down. It remains to be seen if (and when) Tesla will respond with another expansion of its own.
Have you spotted or ridden in a Waymo or Tesla Robotaxi in Austin? Let us know your experience in the comments below.
