Texas robotaxi registry changes hands twice in 48 hours: Tesla passes Waymo with 1,302 cars, then Waymo retakes the lead by 2

Texas keeps a public list of every self-driving vehicle each company is authorized to run in the state, down to the vehicle ID number. Over the past two days, that list turned into a tug-of-war.

According to EVwire's report published Wednesday, Tesla registered a batch of 20 Model Ys just before midnight on Nov. 10, Texas time, taking it from 1,282 to 1,302 vehicles and past Waymo's 1,297 for the first time. China-based tech site IT Home also covered the pass on Thursday afternoon Beijing time, noting that Tesla's Texas fleet was 729 Model Ys and 573 Cybercabs. The Cybercab is Tesla's purpose-built two-seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals. Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, runs mostly Jaguar I-PACEs in Texas, plus a growing number of Ojai minivans built on a Zeekr vehicle.

The lead didn't last. EVwire's registry tracker showed that as of 5:43 a.m. Central time on Nov. 12, Waymo had 1,305 registered vehicles to Tesla's 1,303, putting Waymo back on top by two. Independent site Robotaxi Tracker showed the same figures. With the two this close, one more batch of registrations from either side could flip the order again.

Why does the list exist? Texas law requires companies running commercial driverless vehicles to get state authorization and register their vehicles, and the state DMV publishes the roster, which independent trackers now poll hourly. The growth rate is the bigger story. By EVwire's records, Tesla had just 42 vehicles on the list on May 28, against Waymo's 619. In under six months, Tesla's count grew more than thirtyfold while Waymo's roughly doubled. EVwire also notes Tesla's Cybercab count has been flat at 573 since Oct. 27, so its recent gains came entirely from Model Ys.

There's a key caveat that's easy to miss: registered doesn't mean on the road. Outlets covering the list stress that it shows how many vehicles each company is allowed to operate, not how many are actually carrying passengers, and it includes no data on cities served or trip volume. Fleets can include test vehicles or cars temporarily offline. IT Home reports Tesla is expanding its robotaxi service without safety monitors beyond its initial Austin zone to cities such as San Antonio, while Waymo already operates in several US cities and its nationwide fleet is much larger than its Texas portion. So "most registrations" says more about expansion speed and regulatory clearance than about who carries more riders.

What makes the race meaningful is that robotaxis are moving from pilot programs with dozens of cars to fleets in the thousands. The two companies take different approaches: Waymo uses lidar and other sensors and has operated in mapped zones for years, while Tesla relies mainly on cameras and AI and leans on its mass-produced cars to scale fast. Which approach proves safer and cheaper will be settled by real crash rates, service reliability and prices, not by a two-car gap on a state register.

What it means for you: if you live in or visit Texas cities like Austin, San Antonio or Dallas, hailing a car with no driver is becoming more common, and more competition could bring prices down. Before you ride, it's worth checking each service's coverage area, safety record and how it handles problems mid-trip.

Original sources published: EVwire (Tesla passes Waymo report), Nov 11, 2026, 17:09 Beijing time / 4:09 AM EST; IT之家 (IT Home), Nov 12, 2026, 16:36 Beijing time / 3:36 AM EST; EVwire Robotaxi Tracker (registry data snapshot), Nov 12, 2026, 19:43 Beijing time / 6:43 AM EST