Tesla Robotaxi Gets Longer Austin Hours as Musk Defends Cameras Against Lidar

Tesla has extended its Robotaxi operating hours in Austin, Texas, by one hour, with rides now available until 11pm. Elon Musk, the company's CEO, said the company is still working on a key challenge involving night-time driving, particularly detecting small animals in low-light conditions. His comments followed the service-hours update and a discussion about how Tesla's camera-based system handles dark environments. Musk also responded to a suggestion that Tesla use thermal cameras, saying its existing cameras can provide useful information in darkness with AI-based processing.

Tesla Robotaxi Night-Time Challenge Highlights Musk's Long-Running Lidar Debate

In a recent X post, Musk confirmed the change after the Robotaxi account announced that Austin rides would remain available until 11pm. The service previously stopped accepting rides at 10pm. Musk said the main challenge is detecting animals on the road at night. As an example, he pointed to grey kittens on grey tarmac at night, which could be difficult for a camera to pick out.

An X user suggested that thermal cameras could help Tesla improve night-time visibility. Musk disagreed, saying the company's visual-spectrum cameras can still see in the dark when AI analyses the photons captured by the sensors. Tesla's autonomous driving system continues to rely on cameras and AI rather than lidar or thermal imaging.

The Austin Robotaxi service launched in June 2025 and initially ran from 6am to midnight. Tesla later cut those hours and has now pushed the closing time back to 11pm. The company has also continued adding vehicles to the service, including Cybercab models last month.

Tesla has taken a different route from Waymo when it comes to the hardware used for autonomous driving. It removed radar from its vehicles in 2021 and ultrasonic sensors in 2022, while Waymo uses cameras along with lidar and radar. An Electrek report noted that lidar can measure an object's distance and shape, while radar can still detect objects in conditions such as darkness, fog and glare.

Musk has long argued that Tesla can achieve autonomous driving with cameras and AI, and has repeatedly criticised the use of lidar. Tesla's camera-based approach is also under scrutiny from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating crashes involving 3.2 million vehicles in low-visibility conditions.