Tesla Cybercab already hits a snag in Austin: a 10-minute trip reportedly took 70

Tesla launched its Austin robotaxi service on September 4, 2026. Reports say it’s already dealing with an early routing complaint: a ride that should’ve taken 10 minutes reportedly stretched to 70, with the Tesla robotaxi first driving away from the destination and then looping back on a longer route.

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The explanation seems to be operational. Reports suggest Tesla’s Cybercabs in Austin avoid highways and possibly railroad crossings, so even within a mapped geofence they can wind up taking surface-street workarounds. Tesla’s robotaxi app also reportedly showed a fare estimate, but not an expected travel time.

If you’re thinking about trying Tesla’s robotaxi service, here’s the tension: geofencing is standard in early robotaxi rollouts, but it clashes with Elon Musk’s 2019 claim that systems requiring geofences weren’t “real self-driving.” Waymo supports highways, operates in U.S. markets including Austin, and has laid out expansion plans, even though routing mistakes and stop issues are still common across the industry.

Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin on September 4, 2026, after employee-only testing. By then, Tesla said the fleet had logged 1 million unsupervised miles, with 17 incidents from July 2025 through March 2026 and no major crashes. NHTSA-linked research also put AV sole fault at 4% in crashes involving others, so this reads as a warning sign, not a verdict.

You can book Tesla’s robotaxi service in Austin through Tesla’s robotaxi app.

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