Tesla wins San Antonio approval for robotaxi site near airport

As Tesla Inc. rolled out self-driving robotaxis in Austin, some of the automaker’s plans for a San Antonio expansion just got a nod from City Hall. 

City Council green-lit Tesla’s rezoning request to develop a parking and dispatch site for the driverless taxis known as Cybercabs at 171 Heimer Road near the San Antonio International Airport. 

The approval comes as another request by the company for a similar site with 56 car chargers at 245 and 247 W. Josephine St. by the Pearl was pulled from consideration before council’s Aug. 20 zoning and land use session. 

The Elon Musk-led company launched its Cybercab service Thursday at ACL Live in Austin. It hasn’t said when it expects to begin operations in San Antonio.

RELATED: Tesla unveiled its new Cybercab robotaxi at exclusive Austin event

State records show Tesla now has 420 vehicles registered as robotaxis in Texas; 375 of are retrofitted Model Ys and 45 are the purpose-built Cybercabs, which are painted gold and don’t have a steering wheel or foot pedals. 

Tesla began its robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025 using Model Ys. It later expanded to Dallas and Houston. 

The Austin automaker trails industry leader Waymo, which has nearly 1,000 vehicles listed in the state database. Its service in San Antonio remains halted after one of the empty cars drove into floodwaters and was swept away in April.    

The roughly 1-acre lot on Heimer Road near U.S. 281 and Bitters Road was rezoned from a commercial district that could sell alcohol to one that can’t. The zoning change was approved as part of the consent agenda with no discussion or public comment. 

The former site of a Comerica Bank drive-thru is owned by 612 Live Oak LP, which is represented by San Antonio attorney Patrick Christensen. He also represents RS Josephine Development LLC, a company affiliated with Houston-based Rockspring, which owns the Josephine Street lot.

READ MORE: City panel OKs zoning request for Tesla robotaxi facility near Pearl

City zoning staff recommended approval of the item to the zoning commission and council. 

The decision clears the way for Tesla to begin building the infrastructure needed for its robotaxi operation in San Antonio. 

Public records don’t list how many car chargers Tesla wants to install at the Heimer Road site but the location is larger than the Josephine Street lot. 

Plans for a robotaxi base on about eight-tenths of an acre off Josephine Streeet next to Nathanial Hawthorne Academy surfaced in June. The proposal called for 56 charging stalls, which mirrors similar plans by Tesla in the Phoenix area.

In an email to city staff, Christensen described it as “basically the area where the Texas Sign company used to be” and that “the cars will roll in and be plugged in to charge. That is it. Nothing else will happen on the site.”

A site plan shows the square-shaped plot would be surrounded on three sides by a 6-foot-tall “solid fence” and landscape buffer. A high-security chain-link fence with automatic sliding gates would run along Josephine Street.  

Inside the fence, charging stalls are shown running along the sides as well as in a middle island. There is also was an amenity building, utility equipment and employee parking. 

FROM JUNE: Tesla’s robotaxis may be coming to San Antonio soon

Tesla wanted to rezone the lot from a flexible mixed-use district to a standard commercial district.

City staff recommended the request be denied, but the zoning commission approved it in an 8-2 vote in July. 

Staffers wrote that the proposed zoning “is not appropriate because it would permit the development of a parking lot and charging station for an autonomous taxi service, a use that is inconsistent with the area’s evolving development pattern.”

They wrote that over the past seven years, the area has experienced residential growth and commercial development, and that the rezoning would reduce “the site’s potential to support future mixed-use development consistent with the long-term planning goals for the area.”

Council Member Sukh Kaur, whose district includes the Josephine Street lot, said she asked that the zoning request be pulled from the Aug. 20 session because “I wanted to keep the possibility of housing open at the site.”

“Rather than pursue a full zoning change, I wanted the applicant to consider adding a conditional use for the proposed robotaxi facility,” she said. Kaur added that the applicant “indicated they plan to reapply and should have more details when they do.”

The item remains pending.