Tesla revealed that it has expanded its Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, but has not yet disclosed the exact number of vehicles currently operating as driverless ride-hailing cars in the city.

Before Tesla launched the Robotaxi fleet in Austin on June 22, CEO Elon Musk stated that the fleet would be initially small, comprised of between ten and twenty vehicles in total.

The small fleet size was a way to limit rides and not overwhelm the company as it launched into a new territory: offering driverless rides to those looking to get around Austin. With safety being prioritized, it was understood.

However, there has never been an exact count of the Robotaxi fleet size, and Tesla continues to speak in cryptic fashion, only hinting at what the number of active vehicles could be.

On Tuesday, it expanded its geofence for the third time, increasing the service area in Austin beyond the downtown area and into the suburbs, including the airport and even the Gigafactory Texas.

Tesla one-ups Waymo once again with latest Robotaxi expansion in Austin

The size of the geofence is now 173 square miles, up from 91 square miles, which is what it grew to in early August with its second expansion.

The company also said it “increased the number of cars available by 50 percent,” but would not give an exact count:

Increased service area from 91 to 173 sq miles

Also increased # of cars available by 50%

— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) August 27, 2025

Skeptics of the Robotaxi platform usually point to two things: the presence of a Safety Monitor in the vehicle and the lack of transparency regarding fleet size.

Tesla has done an excellent job of expanding the service area over the past two months, but it is also expanding the number of people it allows to hail a Robotaxi.

This makes the need for an increased fleet size more imperative.

However, no good reason comes to mind for the company not to tell an exact number, but Tesla has its justifications for it. Grok suggests the Robotaxi fleet could be anywhere from 30 to 75 vehicles in total, but this includes the Bay Area.

Musk did say Tesla is working to get the Bay Area fleet to over 100 vehicles. Hopefully, some clarification regarding fleet size will be provided in the coming weeks or months as the service area in Austin continues to expand.

Despite his polarizing nature, Elon Musk is, at his core, an optimist. If he were not one, he would never have founded Tesla or SpaceX, or pursued projects such as Neuralink or xAI.

Musk’s optimism was on full display on social media platform X recently, when he shared what could very well be his most optimistic prediction yet.

Robots and humans

The Tesla CEO recently responded to a post from David Scott Patterson, who estimated that all jobs will be replaced by AI and robots easily by 2030. In his post, Patterson noted that if robots are sold at the same rate as vehicles, it could result in an output of 320 million robots per year. 

Musk responded that eventually, intelligent humanoid robots will far exceed the population of humans, and “there will be many robots in industry for every human to provide products & services.” 

Musk is already taking steps to achieve such a future. Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot is expected to see its first “legion” produced this 2025. During an All-Hands meeting earlier this year, Musk also hinted to Tesla employees that the company will try to produce about 50,000 Optimus robots next year. 

Universal High Income (UHI)

Musk has shared similar sentiments in the past, so it was no surprise that some X users asked the CEO how humans could sustain their lives when robots replace working individuals. To this, Musk responded that a Universal High Income (UHI) would be implemented, which should provide people with the best medical care, food, and transport available.

“There will be universal high income (not merely basic income). Everyone will have the best medical care, food, home, transport and everything else. Sustainable abundance,” Musk wrote in his post. 

Musk’s comment about sustainable abundance seems to be a prevalent theme in his recent optimistic comments. During Tesla’s second quarter earnings call, for example, Musk hinted that his Master Plan Part Four will describe a path towards sustainable abundance in a post-autonomy world.

Tesla looks to be preparing for the potential expansion of the Robotaxi geofence once again, as the company was spotted testing the suite in an area well outside of the Austin service area.

After it first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22, Tesla has managed to expand its geofence twice, essentially doubling the travel area both times.

The most recent expansion took the size of the geofence from 42 square miles to about 80 square miles, bringing new neighborhoods and regions of the city into the realm of where the driverless vehicles could take passengers.

However, it looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.

Over the weekend, one fan noticed a Robotaxi validation vehicle testing in Bee Cave, Texas, which is roughly 25 minutes from the edge of the current geofence:

Tesla spotted doing Robotaxi validation testing in Bee Cave, Texas, about 15 miles west of Austin (20-25 minute drive from current edge of geofence). pic.twitter.com/JCOcoys8SJ

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 23, 2025

Tesla has been testing vehicles in the western suburbs of Austin for some time, and it seems the company is laying some groundwork to push its geofence expansion into Plaid Mode as competition with Waymo continues to be at the forefront of the conversation.

Waymo has been expanding with Tesla for some time, as the pace of expansion for the two companies has been relatively accelerated for the past couple of months.

Tesla’s expansions of the geofence sent a clear message to competitors and doubters, but it is still aiming to keep things safe and not push the envelope too quickly.

The geofence expansion is impressive, but Tesla is also focusing on expanding its vehicle fleet in both Austin and the Bay Area, where it launched a ride-hailing service in July.

Tesla Bay Area autonomous fleet to grow to over 100 units: Elon Musk

Still, safety is the priority at the current time.

“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.