2025-03-10T10:01:07Z Read in app Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? The US has a new robotaxi capital.Waymo and Tesla are going head-to-head in Austin, lured by Texas' hands-off approach to regulation.The number of robots on the road is growing, and local residents, law enforcement, and Uber drivers are concerned.Move over San Francisco; Austin is the new American robotaxi capital.Waymo made its debut in the city last week. TheGoogle-backed startup is partnering with Uber to offer robotaxis on the app for the first time.Soon, it could be sharing the road with Tesla. CEO Elon Musk has said the automaker will launch its first paid robotaxi service in Austin in June, as he bets Tesla's future on self-driving vehicles.The two companies join a crowded playing field of autonomous vehicle firms battling it out in the city, including Amazon-backed Zoox and ventures funded by automakers VW and Hyundai.Texas' lax approach to autonomous vehicle regulation has made it an attractive place for companies to test and deploy robotaxis despite residents, law enforcement, and road safety groups all raising concerns.'This is the individual responsibility state'In Texas, autonomous vehicles are required to have insurance and be able to obey traffic laws but face few other barriers to entry.By contrast, California, where many driverless vehicle startups are headquartered, has tougher rules."California has a multi-step permitting process; you need a permit for testing with a driver, one for testing without a driver, and one for carrying passengers," Phil Koopman, Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and an autonomous vehicle safety expert, told Business Insider."Texas, you show up, you do the paperwork, you're good to go," he added. Elon Musk has bet Tesla's future on autonomous vehicles. Andrew Harnik/Getty Image Musk said last October that Tesla will have fully autonomous vehicles on the road in Texas and California by 2025.The Austin launch remains set for June 2025, but the company's plans for a similar service in California remain unclear.Tesla has not yet secured a permit to offer driverless rides in California, and didn't report any autonomous miles driven last year to its DMV, compared to the nearly 3 million miles reported by Waymo."In California, my understanding is there is an expectation, although not a requirement, that you'll report a few million testing miles before they give you the next permit," said Koopman.Despite Texas' low barriers to entry, the state's rules are tougher in one area.Unlike in California, police can ticket autonomous vehicles.With more robotaxi companies setting up shop in the state, lawmakers are now looking to fill gaps in Texas' regulations with new legislation.State Senator Robert Nichols, who chairs the senate's Transportation Committee, told BI new rules would target companies transporting passengers and goods in autonomous vehicles without a safety driver.Under the new legislation, robotaxi firms would be required to register their fleets with the state's DMV to operate without a driver. A Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar electric vehicle sits parked at an EVgo charging station. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images When "very serious" incidents occur, Nichols said, operators will have the option of shutting down their fleets or putting safety drivers back in vehicles until they can prove to the Texas Department of Public Safety they are safe to operate without them.Nichols said the new legislation, which is still being finalized, would address concerns around the technology while also preserving the state's appeal to robotaxi companies.The new rules would apply to commercial operations like Waymo and Uber but not to privately owned robotaxis such as Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving."You have insurance, and you take the risk. This is an individual responsibility state," Nichols added.On the roadWaymo began testing its Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in Austin in 2023, and has been offering select members of the public the opportunity to ride its robotaxis for free in recent months.Ethan McKanna, an Austin resident who has taken over 80 trips since getting access in October, told BI his experience had been largely positive.McKanna said Waymos' cars are comfortable and drive safely, but will often take longer routes to avoid construction and, on rare occasions, become confused by obstructions and require assistance from remote support workers."Combined with the fact that the car never goes over the speed limit and won't take freeways, it means you have to budget in more time if you're taking a Waymo," McKanna said. The interior of a Waymo as it drives through Austin. Ethan McKanna McKanna added that Waymo's small service area just 37 square miles of Austin is frustrating, and said he was disappointed by the decision to only offer robotaxis on the Uber app as it means users will not be able to guarantee getting a Waymo.The strangest, and often most unwelcome, thing with Waymo is the attention it attracts, McKanna said."A lot of people are excited and take pictures but also some are aggressive toward the car and will cut it off or walk out in front of the car," he said.Not everyone is thrilled when Waymo rolls into town.Uber drivers in the company's other stomping grounds previously told BI the driverless taxis are hurting their earnings and in Austin, they now face the prospect of competing with robotaxis on the same platform.One Austin Uber driver, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his business, told BI that he isn't yet worried about Waymo's impact.He said Waymo's small operating area and inability to travel on freeways means the robotaxis will mostly take unprofitable downtown rides, leaving more lucrative, longer journeys, like to the airport, to human counterparts.Waymo and its rivals are unlikely to be satisfied with small parcels of the city for long.Waymo is already offering thousands of journeys a week to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and is in discussions about expanding to airports in LA and San Francisco. It has also begun testing its technology on freeways in LA and Phoenix. A Waymo parks in the rain in Austin. Ethan McKanna The Uber driver, who said he drives for the app part-time in addition to a full-time job, told BI he thinks Austin's robotaxi boom will make it more difficult to earn a living off the apps in coming years."For the people that do Uber or Lyft full time, I do fear for their income in the future."Robot on robotWhile firms like Waymo have released data they say shows their vehicles are safer than human drivers, some high-profile accidents have plagued the robotaxi revolution.Cruise, which began testing in Austin in 2022, recalled its entire driverless fleet last year after one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian 20 feet along the road after hitting her. The startup never recovered from the accident and has since been shuttered by investor GM.The proliferation of robotaxis in Austin has seen an influx of complaints from residents and emergency responders.Documents obtained by BI via public records requests show that 80 complaints concerning autonomous vehicles have been filed to Austin's Department of Transportation and Public Works since July 2023.The 26 incidents reported over the past year include multiple cases in which Waymo robotaxis failed to heed directions from police and fire officers, drove through roadblocks and security checkpoints, and blocked traffic.One resident reported that they had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with a Waymo in February after it turned too wide and encroached into their lane.Others complained about Waymo vehicles parking outside their houses with lights flashing and motors running "day and night."Some of the complaints featured robotaxi-on-robotaxi action, with two residents saying they had witnessed Zoox vehicles cutting off Waymos. An autonomous vehicle operated by Amazon-backed Zoox. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images "These self-driving cars should not be allowed in Austin until they work out these kinks," read one complaint from December, which reported that a Waymo blocking traffic on a busy street."Somebody's going to get killed. I can't believe that y'all are allowing potentially deadly technology to be tested on the citizens of this city," it said.Zoox did not respond to a request for comment in response to these complaints. A Waymo spokesperson said the company would keep working with first responders and community partners in Austin to refine its technology, and added that Waymo engages proactively with local law enforcement and community groups in all the areas it operates."Waymo's safety data is available to the public. Over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles traveled, the record shows that the Waymo Driver is making roads safer where we operate," they said.Adam Greenfield, director of advocacy at road safety group Safe Streets Austin, told BI that while self-driving cars show promise in cutting deaths from drunken driving and reckless driving, the lack of regulation in Texas was concerning."We need to be very careful in thinking through the possible ramifications of this technology," Greenfield said."As a society have a pretty consistent track record of letting technology wash over us, and then trying to deal with the consequences later when we're very much on the back foot," he added.