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Last Call: Houston Police Union Tells Drinkers To Take A Tesla Robotaxi Home

Days after Tesla's Houston Robotaxi map grew roughly tenfold, the Houston Police Officers' Union pointed residents to the driverless service as a safe ride home after a night out. The post passed 830,000 views.

Sam Ellison, Live desk

Published · 2 min read

A row of five gold Tesla Cybercabs parked under trees at a Houston fleet lot
Photo via @RobotaxiRadar / X

HOUSTON - The people who make drunk-driving arrests in Houston have a new suggestion for getting home after a night out: let the car do the driving.

The Houston Police Officers' Union told its followers on X on Tuesday evening that Tesla's growing driverless service gives residents one more way to avoid getting behind the wheel impaired. "There has never been an excuse to drink and drive," the union wrote. "With @Tesla expanding their Cybercab/Robotaxi services area across #Houston, there are more ways than ever to get home safely after a night out."

The Tesla map of the expanded Houston Robotaxi service area that the Houston Police Officers' Union shared with its post. Image via @HPOUTX / X
The Tesla map of the expanded Houston Robotaxi service area that the Houston Police Officers' Union shared with its post. Image via @HPOUTX / X

The post closed with a plain instruction: "Plan ahead, make the smart choice, and never get behind the wheel impaired." It carried Tesla's own map of the new Houston service area and the hashtag #DontDrinkAndDrive.

It landed. By Thursday morning the post had drawn more than 830,000 views, nearly 3,900 likes and close to 400 reposts. Replies filled with riders and Tesla fans thanking the officers, and one pointed out that in a Cybercab there is no wheel to get behind at all.

The timing is no accident. On Monday Tesla switched on a Houston Robotaxi map roughly ten times the size of its old northwest pocket, running through Downtown and south past Bellaire and taking in River Oaks and the Galleria, as CyberCab.news reported. That puts driverless rides within reach of far more of the city's nightlife for the first time.

An endorsement from rank-and-file police carries weight that no marketing campaign can buy. Safe-ride campaigns usually point people to a taxi, a ride app or a sober friend. A police union pointing the public to a car with no human driver at all is a new step.

Tesla has not said when the gold two-seat Cybercab will carry paying riders in Houston. Cybercab rides are running in Austin, Tesla has said Dallas is next in November, and rows of Cybercabs have been photographed at a Tesla fleet lot in Houston. When they arrive, the city's police officers have already written the pitch.

There has never been an excuse to drink and drive.

About the Author

Sam Ellison

Sam Ellison covers Robotaxi operations in cities across the United States.

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