The findings come as Texas’s new autonomous vehicle law, Senate Bill 2807, takes effect. Majorities want to pull Tesla’s Robotaxi authorization.
Austin, Texas—New polling released last week by Safe Autonomous Vehicles Everywhere in the United States (SAVE-US) finds that Texans are open to the promise of autonomous vehicles but overwhelmingly support stronger safety standards, transparency requirements, and accountability measures for companies deploying self-driving technology on public roads.
The findings come as Texas’s new autonomous vehicle law, Senate Bill 2807, takes effect. Senate Bill 2807 allows companies to self-certify their systems for commercial operation, but the Texas Department of Transportation retains both the authority and the responsibility to verify compliance and to suspend or revoke operations that endanger public safety.
With that deadline now passed and Tesla having signed off on its own service, the open question is whether TxDOT uses its revocation power.
Across all three cities where Tesla Robotaxis operate, majorities want the state to pull Tesla’s Robotaxi authorization until the company can prove its cars are safe and lawful.
Even before hearing anything about Tesla’s safety record, majorities — 72% of voters in Austin, 62% in Dallas, and 56% in Houston — already support the state revoking Tesla’s Robotaxi authorization until it can prove safe and lawful operation:
Key Findings
Texans are familiar with autonomous vehicles, but remain skeptical about safety.
- 85% of Austin voters, 72% of Dallas voters, and 64% of Houston voters say they are familiar with autonomous vehicles.
- Yet only 36% of Austin voters, 25% of Dallas voters, and 22% of Houston voters currently consider autonomous vehicles safe.
- A meaningful share have actually ridden in a robotaxi (35% in Austin, 19% in Dallas, and 16% in Houston), and concern about safety remains high anyway.
Voters overwhelmingly support stronger regulation and corporate accountability.
- 80-83% support requiring autonomous vehicle companies to report all collisions to government agencies.
- 72-79% support mandatory fines when autonomous vehicle technology malfunctions.
- Roughly 70-80% believe manufacturers should bear at least some responsibility for crashes involving advanced driver-assistance systems.
- The most persuasive safety measures include stronger regulations, manufacturer liability for crashes, and greater transparency about how the technology works.
Supporting autonomous vehicle safety regulations is politically popular. When voters were told about policies requiring transparent public reporting, stricter sensor requirements, and manufacturer liability for crashes, support for the politician proposing those measures exceeded opposition by 53 percentage points in Austin, 41 points in Dallas, and 38 points in Houston.
Concerns about Tesla’s Robotaxi operations are widespread. After learning that Tesla’s Robotaxi service had been involved in at least 14 reported crashes over approximately 800,000 miles of operation, roughly 80% of voters across all three cities said they were concerned about the company’s safety performance.
Majorities support revoking Tesla’s authorization to operate the Robotaxi until it can demonstrate safe and lawful operation — 73% in Austin, 60% in Dallas, and 65% in Houston. Opposition never exceeded 23% in any market.
Voters overwhelmingly oppose allowing Tesla’s planned Cybercab — a vehicle designed without a steering wheel or pedals — to operate as a commercial taxi, with support never topping 20% in any city.
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