You May Also Like
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tesla has added Jacksonville to a list of cities where its Robotaxi service is “coming soon,” but the company has not announced a launch date or provided details about where service would operate.
Tesla’s Robotaxi account posted Oct. 21 that the service was coming soon to Jacksonville, along with Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Antonio. The notice signals interest in expanding to the city, but does not establish when rides will begin.
The announcement comes as Jacksonville’s existing autonomous shuttle service, run by JTA, is set to pause. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced in September that NAVI service will be paused Jan. 1, 2027, as the software contract for the autonomous vehicles expires. The vehicles will revert to manual operation, a change JTA said is expected to save about $487,000 a month.
Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond has urged the city to make room for privately operated driverless taxis, including services from Waymo and Tesla. He’s also been a critic of NAVI.
“It’s mission critical for our city to have robotaxis and Waymos and similar autonomous taxi services,” he said. “It’s so important because we’re a huge city and JTA took a huge hit.
I’m going to do everything I can to bring @Waymo to Jacksonville.
I’ll post every time the special interests try to stop it.
— Rory Diamond (@RoryDiamond) February 27, 2026
Diamond told News4JAX in March he planned to introduce legislation to pave the way for autonomous robotaxis on Jacksonville roads. He argued privately operated services could cost less than NAVI, saying that each NAVI ride cost the city $360.
Some drivers said they are still leery of autonomous cars.
“With drivers these days and the way people are drivin, I don’t think that would be too conducive for Jacksonville,” George Hernandez said.
Another person said they are confused by how they function.
“I don’t even know what that is, oh no. Scary,” they said.
Diamond has also said robotaxis could improve road safety. Transportation safety analysts cautioned that deployment should be supported by safety evidence and clear accountability when something goes wrong.
Tesla’s “coming soon” notice does not confirm that Jacksonville has approved a service or that rides are imminent. The company has not released a local timeline or operating-area details.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
