Tesla Robotaxi Takes Austin Rides Until 1 AM, Adds COTA as F1 Weekend Starts

Tesla's Austin Robotaxi app now accepts ride requests until 1 a.m., and its geofence now includes the Circuit of the Americas racetrack as the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix weekend gets underway, according to app screenshots shared by David Moss on X.

Last call for rides is now 1 a.m. in Austin.

The new cutoff appears in the Robotaxi app as a banner reading “Last call is 1am · Limited to nearby dropoffs.” The change moves the service one hour later than the 6 a.m. to midnight window listed in Tesla’s Q3 2026 update. The banner indicates late-night rides are limited to nearby drop-offs.

Service area now covers Circuit of the Americas.

The updated geofence line wraps around the racetrack southeast of downtown Austin and extends toward Elroy and Farm to Market Road 812. A search for “cota” in the app showed COTALAND Theme Park and COTA Karting listed under a “Service blocked” heading. It remains unclear whether the label stems from the late-night restriction or track-specific limits.

Expansion coincides with Formula 1 race weekend.

The United States Grand Prix runs October 22 to 25 at Circuit of the Americas. Practice begins Friday, October 23, qualifying follows on Saturday, and the race starts Sunday, October 25, at 3 p.m. CT. The timing gives attendees an additional option for rides around the event.

Hours have lengthened steadily since summer.

Robotaxi service ran from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. starting in late August before moving to 11 p.m. in early October. Tesla has not announced the latest changes on its official Tesla or Robotaxi accounts on X. Details come from rider screenshots shared on X by David Moss on October 22, 2026.

Further extensions remain planned.

Tesla Vice President of AI Ashok Elluswamy stated on the October 21 earnings call that rides would reach 2 a.m. soon and that 24/7 operation is targeted before year end.