Tesla expands robotaxi service to Dallas, Houston

April 18 (Reuters) - Tesla is ‌rolling out ​its ​robotaxis in Dallas and Houston, the electric vehicle maker said on Saturday, marking further expansion of its nascent ‌service in the United States since its Austin, Texas, ⁠launch last year.

Tesla's official robotaxi account on X announced the launch and posted ‌two videos showing its ‌best-selling Model Y SUVs running in the two cities with no human driver or monitor in the front seats.

It posted two ​map images outlining service boundaries, but did not disclose further details such as fleet size or pricing.

"Try Tesla Robotaxi ⁠in Dallas & Houston!" CEO Elon Musk said reposting the X post.

Tesla's move comes as the ​robotaxi business has regained momentum with Alphabet's Waymo and Amazon's Zoox speeding up expansion.

Expanding the robotaxi service ​and wider adoption of its full ‌self-driving software, a version of which underpins the technology, is key to Tesla's growth strategy as Musk ⁠has pivoted the company's focus to artificial intelligence and robotics from EVs.

Much of the company's $1.3 trillion valuation hinges on that bet.

Tesla first deployed ⁠a small group of self-driving taxis in an area of Austin with human ​safety monitors and other restrictions. The company has since widened the service area and started removing the monitors.

Last year, Tesla also started a ride-hailing ‌service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Musk has promised to expand the robotaxi service rapidly in ‌the U.S., but missed earlier predictions of its robotaxis operating widely ⁠in multiple U.S. metro ‌areas by the end ​of 2025.

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco Editing by Nick Zieminski, ‌Rod Nickel)

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