Tesla Launches Self-Driving Robotaxis in Dallas and Houston Without Lidar Technology

Tesla has started commercial self-driving taxi service in Dallas and Houston using Model 3 and Model Y vehicles—without human drivers or lidar sensors (laser-based detection systems that competitors use). This Level 4 autonomous service—meaning the car handles driving in most conditions—relies on Tesla's camera-based approach: eight cameras around the vehicle, twelve ultrasonic sensors (which detect nearby objects using sound waves), and radar technology all processed by Tesla's custom self-driving hardware. Remote control centers monitor the vehicles. This deployment tests whether Tesla's sensor-only method—which uses cameras instead of the more expensive lidar systems favored by competitors like Waymo—can work reliably at commercial scale.