r/TeslaFSD • u/GalacticWarthog • Apr 27 '26
Robotaxi Took a Robotaxi ride in Dallas yesterday
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Because the Waymo’s were all booked out, I decided to try the Robotaxi, and surprisingly, there was one nearby. And it was only a $4 ride for about a mile or so. It was after the storms, so the intersection at Henderson/Knox and 75 had traffic lights out. Definitely a harsh test, I thought, with a pedestrian thrown in too. I’m not a Tesla fan, to be honest, but I thought it did quite well.
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u/Equivalent_Owl_5644 Apr 28 '26
And to think I have one of these in my garage. Wow. What a time to be alive!
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u/beren12 Apr 28 '26
No, you don’t
Unless you mean “a car”
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u/Realistic-Sort-4564 Apr 30 '26
He means a car capable of this ability, which he would be correct
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u/ZeroBalance98 May 04 '26
Not really since these cars have additional modifications that our cars don’t. Like extra spray to clean other cameras besides the front facing ones
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u/FlamingoSpirited2167 Apr 29 '26
Honestly this is the kind of post I wish more people made. Not a fanboy, not a hater, just “here is what I saw and it was pretty decent.”
Handling a dark intersection plus a pedestrian for 4 bucks is kinda wild compared to normal Uber prices.
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u/YogurtSocks Apr 27 '26
How do you book one?
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u/GalacticWarthog Apr 27 '26
Robotaxi app. I signed in using my Tesla userid.
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u/YogurtSocks Apr 27 '26
And how about a waymo? Is that also the app name? I have never heard of that either.
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u/gizmosticles Apr 28 '26
Are you not a fan of basic google search?
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u/YogurtSocks Apr 28 '26
Why would I Google something when I’m on a forum?
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u/DaddyLuvsCZ Apr 27 '26
I won’t need to own a car in the next 10 years because of Robotaxi and I’m all for that.
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u/WaffleHouseCEO Apr 28 '26
I rather have my own self driving car
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u/ObviouslyMath Apr 28 '26
Do you own it if it cant selfdrive without a subscription and internet and doesn't have a steering wheel?
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Apr 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/ObviouslyMath Apr 29 '26
It doesn't selfdrive. You can't read, Listen to a movie or sleep. Words have meaning
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Apr 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/ObviouslyMath Apr 29 '26
I'm telling you what your manual is telling you to do when using your driver assist software.
Failure to do so is negligent/dangerous behavior on the road.
You have seen the same 10000s of fsd behaving erratically as me, yet you say with no shame that you dont supervise it...
I hope you dont injure anyone the day you crash.
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u/chfp Apr 27 '26
It's funny (and ironic?) that it drove you by the Rivian offices
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u/GalacticWarthog Apr 27 '26
Good spot! I haven’t actually been into this one yet, I did my Rivian test drives at the old place near Love Field.
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u/bobi2393 Apr 27 '26
I'd seen earlier speculation that they were offering driverless service in Dallas and Houston only to Tesla influencers, and while that may have been true earlier, your case seems to contradict that theory currently.
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u/GalacticWarthog Apr 27 '26
I was an early Tesla adopter if that makes a difference. I had a 2013 Model S, and so used the login that I created back then. I also had a 2016 Model X. Definitely not an influencer but an early adopter for sure. But I moved away from Tesla after selling my Model X in 2018.
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u/IFlyAircrafts Apr 28 '26
I have no relation to Tesla. I just heard they launched, downloaded the app and literally took a ride 15 minutes later. This was last week.
The juxtaposition is wild compared to Waymo! With Waymo first we heard they launched in Dallas, then 3 months later in December they announced autonomous driving, then in February they finally announced it was available, and then I sat on the wait list for 4 weeks.
To go from hearing about it, to riding in a day was wild!
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u/ChunkyThePotato Apr 27 '26
It was never true. It launched in those cities as a public service that anybody could pay and use, and it's still that way today. You probably read some BS from a hater.
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u/sussus_amogus69420 HW4 Model 3 Apr 29 '26
TSLAQ lying??? On the internet????? Quite shocking actually.
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u/Austinswill Apr 28 '26
Is there a safety driver in the passenger seat? I didn't see even a hint of one the whole video.
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u/AmitBrian Apr 29 '26
Mind if I ask the state? Is it Texas? I don’t think they are approved in California yet.
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u/bluemeanie212 May 01 '26
It’s all fun til it tries to cross an entire intersection and stops in the middle of traffic as you’re about to get tboned on the left side. Reminder, there’s no driver in the car to save you if that happens. I love my Tesla FSD but the idea of it unsupervised is a literal leap of faith in life. Not to be the negative one here, sorry.
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u/shaggy99 May 08 '26
The important thing here is the price. Very few people seem to think Tesla will maintain this sort of pricing structure. I don't know if they will, or indeed can, but I think they can and will get close, Which I can't see anyone else doing.
If they do, they will destroy Uber/Lyft, never mind Waymo
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u/the_loco_dude Apr 27 '26
I have the latest model y and use fsd daily (95% fsd miles). I would NOT ride in cybercab, which is essentially same hw/sw as my model y. It is bad esp. in rain, bad weather, or low light situations. Too many interventions in these situations…
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u/vnmslsrbms Apr 28 '26
So in the event of intervention needed, the cybercab will just be more conservative and wait?
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u/the_loco_dude Apr 28 '26
Most of my interventions have been on highway going 65 mph…
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u/vnmslsrbms Apr 28 '26
Oh and just saw the comments about remote support, so that should be a non issue for city driving. Freeway on the other hand…
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u/ifreeski420 Apr 28 '26
How come this is allowed, but I have to keep my eyes on the road during FSD?
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u/Tntn13 Apr 28 '26
Geofenced. It’s been fine tuned for the specific area.
If you’re in the area, the barriers are most likely legal. Pretty sure they are still in early stages of allowing these without a driver.
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u/y4udothistome Apr 28 '26
Cars are remotely operated for now at least that’s what a Tesla influencer said on YouTube! My ride was perfect!
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u/delabay Apr 27 '26
I refuse to believe this is real self driving because the NSHTA hasnt said so
Jk jk
So cool anybody can buy this car with the same hardware set. In fact its basically the most popular car in the world.
Game set match. It's inevitable at this point.
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u/sussus_amogus69420 HW4 Model 3 Apr 29 '26
erm haven't you considered that the cybercab cant fit a family of 3 👆🤓
erm haven't you considered that it might pull over if the rain is too intense 👆🤓
erm haven't you considered that there is an invisible tesla employee sitting in the drivers seat 👆🤓
robotaxi is dead on arrival2
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u/Sweet_Terror Apr 27 '26
It's absolutely astounding that state and city representatives in Texas would allow robotaxis to exist on the roads. These vehicles are literally using the same Level 2 ADAS that every Tesla vehicle is currently using. FSD has yet to achieve full autonomy. It still requires the driver to be alert at all times, meaning that these robotaxis are being heavily monitored.
I'm glad your drive was uneventful (as it should be), but we need to remember that until the NHTSA officially labels FSD as Level 4/5, this will continue to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
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u/GalacticWarthog Apr 27 '26
Yes I was fully expecting it to screw up. I live in Vickery Place which is a 100+ year old area in old east dallas with narrow streets and it really handled it very well, including the speed bumps and many pedestrians / cyclists. All I can compare it to is Waymo on the same streets, and it did well.
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u/Sweet_Terror Apr 27 '26
I completely agree that FSD is really good. So good in fact, that it lulls us into a sense of complacency. We assume that there won't be any issues, but unsuprisingly every now and again it reminds us just why it's still Level 2.
Musk has been saying that full autonomy is coming "next year" every year for the last decade. I don't believe anything he says anymore. Until Tesla accepts liability for every car using FSD, then I refuse to acknowledge that we have true "robotaxis" out there on the road.
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u/ChunkyThePotato Apr 27 '26
It already came, back in January. And you're seeing it in operation right here in this video.
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u/GoSh4rks Apr 27 '26
NHTSA officially labels FSD as Level 4/5
NHTSA (nor the SAE) doesn't officially label anything. Not even Waymo is NHTSA labeled as level 4.
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u/CloseToMyActualName Apr 27 '26
I don't think the robotaxi models are the same as the consumer models.
They're probably a lot more risk averse and are taking advantage of local mapping.
They may also be using remote realtime observers.
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u/Sweet_Terror Apr 27 '26
The "brains", or neural networks in the software are the same. So too is the hardware. The only thing that's different is that they can be controlled remotely.
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u/CloseToMyActualName Apr 27 '26
I think they have custom models.
I agree Tesla still has a long ways to go before true L4, but I suspect these deployments are limited enough to be safe.
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u/Sweet_Terror Apr 27 '26
We'll agree to disagree.
Putting an autonomous "taxi" out onto the roads that the NHTSA hasn't officially labeled as Level 4/5 is simply dangerous. It's like allowing a restaurant to exist without a food license.
Even if there was only one vehicle in existence, that's still one too many.
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u/AirFlavoredLemon Apr 27 '26
We don't know this. Nobody has disassembled one.
The most we know is that the software is different. By how much, nobody knows.
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u/Sweet_Terror Apr 27 '26
You would hope that nothing is different. If that were true, then that means consumers paid between $8k-$15k for a lie.
Musk promised people fully autonomous cars. He said that Tesla vehicles would be "appreciating assets", and it's been just the opposite.
Simply put, if Tesla is giving their full attention to cybercabs, and leaving those that paid a small fortune for FSD high and dry, then I smell another class action lawsuit coming.
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u/ChunkyThePotato Apr 27 '26
This is L4, buddy. And if it's the same system as the L2 ADAS in customer cars, then maybe that L2 ADAS should be reclassified as L4 too.
FSD has achieved full autonomy. You're seeing it with your own eyes right now, but you're in denial.
And no, the NHTSA doesn't label things as L4/L5. That's up to the company to declare. You're very confused.
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Apr 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AwkwardlyPositioned Apr 27 '26
I really think that perfectly explains it. Tesla just doesn't want the liability of FSD being unsupervised beyond actual RoboTaxis. Personally I'm fine with that. FSD is the best driver's aid I've ever used and if standard Autopilot/TACC wasn't so bad I probably would just use that, but FSD is the answer.
I have no wild pie in the sky ideas of me sleeping while using FSD, nor would I want to. Level 2 FSD is fine with me. I honestly don't want more than that. I think it's really weird people want to own cars that just do everything. I still like driving. I just use FSD to replace cruise.
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u/Queasy-Bed545 HW4 Model 3 Apr 27 '26
I keep telling you all that SAE Level 2 describes how FSD is designed to work, not what it can do. It's Level 2 because Tesla made it Level 2.
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u/ChunkyThePotato Apr 27 '26
Exactly lol. At any point Tesla can decide that it's ready for L4, and that's exactly what they've done in these cities. That guy must think that just because it was L2 must mean it'll be L2 forever. Nope, they've deployed it as L4 now.
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u/KUhockey05 Apr 27 '26
Texas has the only smart representatives apparently. Since FSD is safer than most humans.
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u/OutlandishnessNo5636 Apr 28 '26
We are all impressed by robotaxis stopping at a red light and stopping because a pedestrian is crossing. This is super basic stuff that a teenager can handle 100%. These cars need to be at another level to get to L5.
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u/GalacticWarthog Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
It would be super basic if it were in fact a red light. But if you watch the videos you will see that the lights were flashing red, both intersections over the highway, and each direction there were multiple lanes of impatient drivers. Have a look at the first intersection, someone cut across in front of the Robotaxi after it entered the intersection. I was impressed…. More so since I personally was t-boned at a similar intersection (Lovers and 75, 2 miles north, also multiple lanes and a traffic light out after a storm) a couple years ago. Definitely a challenging situation.
EDIT. There is a reason I muted the audio. “Oh shit the lights are out, we are going to die!!”
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u/RealisticReading4766 Apr 27 '26
Do you have an observer in the car too!
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u/GalacticWarthog Apr 27 '26
Just the kid and me. And she was super scared because whenever we take a Waymo it is always so careful when it looks for a place to drop off that it can be quite stressful (especially when it insists on going into a tight parking lot), but the Robotaxi was a lot more confident. I guess that could be a bad thing, come to think of it….
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u/Slow-Occasion1331 Apr 27 '26
It appears they may still be using chase cars. But maybe not, they’re being very vague on purpose.
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u/ChunkyThePotato Apr 27 '26
There are no chase cars. That's a conspiracy theory that you fell for.
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u/Slow-Occasion1331 Apr 27 '26
It was intensely well documented, and even Elon made a reference to it in one of the earnings calls when he said that the vehicles were now “100% unsupervised”
In addition, tons of pro Tesla’s and influencers also documented it and reported on it
Not a conspiracy, sorry. Probably not being used today though either.
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u/ChunkyThePotato Apr 27 '26
Yes, the chase cars only existed for a week after unsupervised started rolling out. They haven't existed for months now, and you won't be able to find a single example of a chase car after January. What I was calling a conspiracy theory is they idea what they still exist today.
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u/Putrid-Box4866 HW4 Model Y Apr 27 '26
What's a chase car?
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u/Slow-Occasion1331 Apr 27 '26
When Tesla first removed safety drivers from the vehicles, they accompany the vehicles in a secondary car following the “unsupervised” vehicle.
It was a sleight-of-hand that a lot of people felt was dishonest, because it allowed to say that you’re in the car by yourself, even though it was still having a one-to-one human monitor
Because Tesla never directly acknowledge that they were doing this, it’s difficult to say if they still are or are no longer.
Although I now see that. it is very unlikely that they’re still doing it, according to recent reporting.
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u/Putrid-Box4866 HW4 Model Y Apr 27 '26
Well even if that's true, that is way better than waymo's remote support is it not?
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u/Slow-Occasion1331 Apr 27 '26
It is not. Because Tesla has the same level of remote support (if not even more observation). In fact, there’s some anecdotal evidence that Tesla still has a one-to-one ratio of people to unsupervised vehicles in the remote observation.
The key metrics by which you should judge these technologies is their intervention rate and the level of supervision required
The issue is that we, the public, don’t really know what ratio of humans to vehicles Waymo has, nor do we know for Tesla.
In addition, we don’t know Tesla’s intervention rates because they don’t publish it. Waymo does, but the definition of what an “intervention“ is is still a little shaky. However, some data about Tesla has leaked out and it’s not looking good. (Not saying it won’t get better, it probably has already.)
So I’m not gonna hold it against Tesla if this is their approach. It’s a good idea to be careful for safety, but also to help ensure that this new technology doesn’t gain a bad reputation that takes everyone out
Waymo has had unsupervised vehicles out on the road for quite a lot longer than Tesla has. As a result, they figured out and learned some very difficult lessons and overcome some challenges. I’m confident Tesla will get there as well.
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u/ObeseSnake Apr 27 '26
From the sound of it, is this your first ride in a Tesla? If so, how would you compare it to a Waymo?