Episode 185 is two unsupervised Robotaxi rides through Austin on a brutal Texas afternoon — and then a second ride from the Four Seasons to pizza.
The first cab was sitting at 66°F while it was 106°F outside. That alone felt like the future. Then the car did two things that still make me smile: it accepted a last-minute destination change, and it cut through a gas station the way only a veteran Austin driver would.
Watch Episode 185 here:
Ride One — Availability, A/C, and That Gas-Station Cut-Through
I was surprised how many Robotaxis were available. In that same part of Austin, the wait used to stretch toward 20 minutes. This time it was about two minutes. I even posted about it, and Elon reposted it.
Once I was in, I didn’t have to keep diving in and out of the app. The cabin was already cold. The screen showed the outside temperature in the mid-100s and the cabin locked at 66. That contrast — melting on the sidewalk, then stepping into quiet, cold air with no driver — never stops feeling historic.
The routing was the real star. I changed the destination late, and the car handled it. Then it did that clever gas-station cut-through. Nobody on the lot even looked twice. The vehicle just took the efficient line, the way a local would, and kept going toward Northwest Hills.
That is the difference between a demo and a product. It is not only staying in the lane. It is solving Austin in real time.
Ride Two — Four Seasons to Pizza
The second ride started at the Four Seasons Hotel. The Robotaxi pulled into the driveway, the screen was clean — no fingerprints, dark mode, “Start Ride” — and we rolled out toward pizza.
Leaving a hotel porte-cochère with no driver in the seat still looks like science fiction against those columns and downtown streets. Then it is just… a ride. Dinner. Ordinary life, except the car is doing the work.
That is what I want people to see in this episode. Not a lab. Not a press event. A hot Austin day, a last-minute change, a shortcut through a gas station, and a hotel-to-pizza trip.
Why These Two Rides Matter
Robotaxi is getting useful. Shorter waits. Cabin already comfortable before you sit down. Destination changes that stick. Local routing that looks like judgment, not a rigid map line.
Every one of these rides is a small public record of what unsupervised autonomy feels like on the streets I actually use.
Join the Conversation
Have you taken a Robotaxi in this heat yet? What impressed you more — the wait time, the cold cabin, or a routing move you did not expect?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. I read every one.
Stay curious. Stay adventurous. And keep enjoying the ride ahead! 🚕✨
See other Episodes 186 & 187 – Iba Thiam’s First Supervised FSD Ride
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