Tesla Edges Past Waymo in Texas Driverless Registry With 1,302 Vehicles

On November 11, 2026, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles automated vehicle registry listed 1,302 vehicles under Tesla Robotaxi, LLC and 1,297 under Waymo LLC, a five-vehicle gap that put Tesla ahead of Waymo for the first time in the state's driverless fleet count. EVwire reported on November 11, 2026 that Tesla now has more driverless vehicles registered in Texas than Waymo, 1,302 to 1,297, while noting that the registry measures registered vehicles rather than vehicles carrying passengers.

That distinction is not a footnote. The TxDMV registry records how many vehicles an operator has registered for driverless operation, not how many are in service or how often they carry paying riders. A vehicle can appear in the registry without carrying passengers at that moment, and neither the registry nor the public trackers built on it show how many vehicles are giving rides at any given time. EVwire noted the same limitation, saying the counts are authorized vehicles, not those actively carrying passengers.

The reversal arrived after a rapid buildout by Tesla. The tracker's records showed 42 vehicles registered to Tesla's Robotaxi service on May 28 against 619 for Waymo. By November 11, Tesla had grown more than thirtyfold while Waymo had roughly doubled its registered Texas fleet. Tesla also expanded service: it launched unsupervised Robotaxi operations in Fort Worth and San Antonio, bringing its Texas cities to five alongside Austin, Dallas and Houston.

Texas has become a closely watched test bed because it publishes a running count through the Automated Motor Vehicle registry maintained under Senate Bill 2807. That record now covers 17 companies and 3,424 vehicles, with Tesla and Waymo accounting for about 76% of the total. The concentration gives the Tesla and Waymo comparison outsized importance, but it also means the registry is a narrow window into a much wider autonomous vehicle industry.

Key Facts

The five-vehicle lead appeared in the evening of November 10, Texas time. The Texas AV Tracker reported on November 11, 2026 that the switch occurred at 11:52 p.m. Central Time, when a batch of 20 Model Ys raised Tesla from 1,282 to 1,302. Before that batch, Waymo held a 15-vehicle advantage, according to the tracker.

Tesla's fleet was split between 729 Model Ys and 573 Cybercabs. The Texas AV Tracker put the Model Y share at 56.0% and the Cybercab share at 44.0%, while EVwire reported the same raw totals. Cybercab registrations had held at 573 since October 27, and Tesla added 222 Model Ys since that date, lifting its Model Y count to 729 and putting Model Ys back ahead of Cybercabs after the Cybercab briefly held the majority in late October.

Waymo's 1,297 vehicles consisted of 874 Jaguar I-PACEs and 423 Ojais built by Zeekr, EVwire reported on November 11, 2026. The two fleets have different compositions: Waymo is registering a large number of Jaguar I-PACEs alongside Zeekr-built Ojais, while Tesla's Texas count is dominated by its own Model Y and Cybercab. The registry does not disclose how many of those vehicles are active on any given day.

The lead is narrow and recent. Drive Tesla Canada reported on November 9, 2026 that Tesla had 1,282 vehicles to Waymo's 1,285, leaving Tesla four vehicles away from overtaking Waymo. On November 1, Tesla had 1,204 vehicles in the registry, and the November 9 total represented an increase of 78, or about 6.5%, in one week. In the tracker update cited at the time, Tesla rose from 1,244 to 1,282, an addition of 38, while Waymo rose from 1,259 to 1,285, an addition of 26.

Tesla's gain came as the wider Texas field remained small. Avride was third with 344 vehicles, followed by Zoox at 63 and Nuro at 47, according to EVwire. Benzinga reported on November 11, 2026 that investor Sawyer Merritt described the Texas total on X on November 10 and that Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey endorsed the robotaxi bet. Benzinga also cited a Robotaxi Tracker count of 681 unsupervised robotaxis, including 411 Model Ys and 270 Cybercabs, across Texas and parts of Florida. Luckey framed the opportunity as taking more than $150 billion in ridesharing revenue and subtracting the cost of paying 16 million drivers.

Analysis

The first reading of the registry flip is simple: Tesla has assembled the largest authorized driverless fleet in Texas. The second reading is more cautious. A five-vehicle lead is smaller than a single batch of additions, and the registry can change whenever an operator registers more vehicles. Tesla's move from 1,282 to 1,302 came in one block of 20 Model Ys, which shows how quickly the ranking can move. Waymo's 1,297 vehicles and its prior 15-vehicle cushion show that the company remains close enough to retake the lead with a comparable batch.

What this really means is that the Texas registry is a measure of authorized capacity, not a scoreboard for commercial robotaxi service. Tesla can lead on registered vehicles while carrying fewer passengers, and Waymo can trail on registrations while operating a dense service in specific areas. The available data does not say how many vehicles are actively carrying passengers, so it cannot resolve that question. Readers should treat the 1,302 to 1,297 comparison as a fleet authorization milestone, not proof that Tesla has won the ride hailing market.

The operational trend still favors Tesla's momentum. Tesla's registered fleet rose from 42 on May 28 to 1,302 on November 11, a more than thirtyfold increase, while Waymo roughly doubled. Tesla's Model Y additions have done most of the recent work, and the Cybercab count has been flat since October 27. That mix matters because Tesla's most recent growth has come from Model Y units rather than from additional Cybercabs, while the Cybercab remains the vehicle Tesla is emphasizing for the next phase of its robotaxi plans.

Investors and Tesla's supporters are already framing the fleet count as evidence for a much larger thesis. Benzinga reported on November 11, 2026 that Luckey described the bet as more than $150 billion in ridesharing revenue minus the cost of paying 16 million drivers, and that Tesla shares rose 1.65% to $386.04 in overnight trading on Tuesday. The same report said Musk confirmed Tesla would wind down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas to shift focus to Cybercab and would refund deposits to some prospective owners. Those are separate decisions, but together they show Tesla aligning manufacturing and investor narrative around driverless vehicles even before the Texas registry lead translates into disclosed ride volume.

Why It Matters

Texas matters because its public registry lets observers watch robotaxi fleets grow in near real time. The Texas AV Tracker polls the TxDMV registry every 60 seconds, and its November 11 snapshot showed Tesla with 20 vehicles added since midnight Central Time. That cadence turns a regulatory system into a public scoreboard, shaping how journalists, investors and residents perceive the race. It also raises the risk of overreading a number that was designed for authorization, not performance.

The registry also shows how concentrated the Texas market remains. Tesla and Waymo hold about 76% of the 3,424 vehicles registered by 17 companies, while Avride has 344, Zoox 63 and Nuro 47. A five-vehicle lead at the top therefore says little about the long tail of operators active in the state. For regulators, the relevant question is whether the registry captures enough information to oversee a diverse field, not simply which company is first.

For riders, the practical effect is less clear. Tesla's Texas service has expanded to five cities, including unsupervised operations in Fort Worth and San Antonio, but the registry does not show how many of the 1,302 vehicles are carrying passengers in each city or how often they accept rides. Waymo's 1,297 registrations include 874 Jaguar I-PACEs and 423 Zeekr Ojais, yet the count alone does not reveal service density. The competition may widen coverage over time, but the public data available on November 11 cannot prove that.

Next Up

The next test is whether Tesla's five-vehicle lead survives the next registry update. A single batch of 20 Model Ys created the lead, and a similar batch from Waymo would erase it. The more meaningful signals will be whether Tesla keeps adding Model Ys, whether Cybercab registrations resume growth after holding at 573 since October 27, and whether Waymo's roughly doubled Texas fleet continues to expand. The Texas AV Tracker's 60-second polling will make each change visible almost immediately.

Beyond the count, attention will turn to service evidence and manufacturing. The registry counts vehicles, not rides, so ride volume will have to come from the companies or from regulators. Benzinga reported that Musk confirmed the Cybertruck wind down and deposit refunds as Tesla shifts toward Cybercab, a decision that could affect how quickly the Cybercab reaches fleets. Until operators disclose utilization, the Texas registry will remain a capacity scoreboard: useful, closely watched and incomplete.