Houston Robotaxi's rocket-shaped zone rejects downtown pickups, tracker calls it partly 'fake'
Robotaxi Tracker's founder dropped a pickup pin downtown, inside Tesla's published Houston area, and the app refused it — raising questions about how much of the Oct. 26 expansion is actually serviceable.
Per Electrek, the Houston Robotaxi area Tesla announced on Oct. 26 stretches a small northwest Harris County launch zone into a corridor reaching downtown and Bellaire, forming a rocket shape — yet parts of downtown inside the boundary can't be hailed.
Robotaxi Tracker's Ethan McKanna dropped a downtown pin and the app rejected it: "Location not available. Move the map to select a different location." Earlier, on Oct. 26, the app quoted a 2:05 pm pickup on downtown's east side and a 2:48 pm drop-off at Houston Police headquarters on Travis Street, a few blocks away, routing through Midtown, the Museum District and the Texas Medical Center. McKanna suspects the cars avoid downtown railroad crossings.
He called Houston the most egregious 'fake' AV service area he has seen, though he said the service otherwise feels good, with reasonable waits and better driving than his recent Waymo rides.
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