Tesla Robotaxi Hours Extended to 11 PM: The Kitten Problem

One more hour of driverless rides—and an unusually candid explanation. As reported by Teslarati on October 5, 2026, Tesla moved its Robotaxi operating hours from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Musk’s reason: pets in the dark

Announcing the change on X on October 3, Elon Musk wrote that the main thing Tesla is trying to solve is “making sure that we don’t run over pets when they’re hard to see at night. Literally trying to avoid grey kittens on grey tarmac in the dark.” It is a textbook low-contrast perception case for a camera-only system without lidar.

Hours: still below the 2025 peak

• June 22, 2025: paid rides start in Austin, 6 a.m. to midnight
• September 2025: extended to a 2 a.m. close (a 20-hour day)
• August 26, 2026: formalised at 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. across Austin and other markets
• October 2026: 11 p.m. close—one hour shorter than launch, three shorter than the 2025 peak

Teslarati says Tesla ties a move to 24/7 operation to an FSD software release expected this month on Robotaxi vehicles.

Cybercab fleet grows fast

Texas DMV records show 169 Cybercabs authorized for commercial use as of October 2, up from 45 at the September 3 Austin unveiling, Impact Newswire reports. NHTSA has opened an audit query on the Cybercab’s compliance with federal safety standards, and Tesla obtained an extension past the September 30 response date.

Rocks take

An honest edge case beats a vague “safety validation” line. The metric to watch is whether the next FSD release actually unlocks overnight service—and whether night incidents stay rare as the fleet quadruples.

FAQ

Does this apply to Europe? No—Robotaxi currently operates only in US markets.

Is 24/7 confirmed? No date beyond “a release expected this month.”