Autonomous vehicles from several companies have operated in Houston for much of this year. Data obtained by the ABC News Data Team shows 21 crashes involving the vehicles in Houston from September 2025 through August 2026. Based on that data, any passenger injuries in those crashes were minor. The report comes after Tesla announced it is expanding its Robotaxi service across the City of Houston.
Mayor John Whitmire's office did not give a detailed statement. Whitmire said, "We monitor them very carefully, but we have no authority to regulate." A state law requiring autonomous vehicles to be registered with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles took effect in late May. The law requires carriers to follow certain mandates and lets the state remove a carrier's registration if necessary. ABC13 asked the agency for figures covering the law's first five months. The agency told the station to file a public-records request, which has been submitted.
The City of Austin runs an online dashboard that shows incidents involving autonomous vehicles. ABC13 asked Whitmire's office whether Houston could offer a similar tool. The station said it received only the mayor's statement in response.