Tesla’s new rocket-shaped Robotaxi service area in Houston includes parts of downtown where the service won’t actually pick you up, according to Ethan McKanna, the creator of Robotaxi Tracker and former Tesla employee.
📌 The Core Development
McKanna rode the service after Monday’s expansion and called Houston “by far the most egregious ‘fake’ AV service area” he has seen. One trip quote had him spending about 40 minutes in a Robotaxi to go two blocks.
On Monday, Tesla expanded its Houston Robotaxi geofence into the shape of a rocket . It took the small launch zone in northwest Harris County and stretched it into a long corridor down to downtown and Bellaire, announced with “Houston, we have liftoff.”
🔍 Background & Sector Context
McKanna runs Robotaxi Tracker, the crowdsourced site that tracks Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet and service areas, and he worked at Tesla this summer, so he knows the program better than most. He went to Houston to try it out. Here’s what he posted last night:
Another thing. Often AV service area maps advertised are kind of fake- they don’t actually go to everywhere in the polygon the provider publishes. Robotaxi Houston is probably by far the most egregious ‘fake’ AV service area I’ve seen I get they were doing it so they could get… https://t.co/ILXIkmwGVp pic.twitter.com/yUfswZhQKF
📊 Industry & Real-World Impact
The video shows the Robotaxi app with a pickup pin dropped in downtown Houston, well inside the polygon Tesla published. The app refuses it: “Location not available. Move the map to select a different location.”
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🔮 Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
McKanna acknowledged that AV service area maps are often “kind of fake,” since operators don’t serve every street inside the polygon they advertise. But he singled out Houston as the worst case he’s seen and said he understands Tesla did it “so they could get the starship shape,” which doesn’t seem like a good reason to fake availability.
The day before, he posted a trip quote that shows what this looks like for a rider:
