Tesla Robotaxi Miami: Launch Day Field Report from Coral Gables to Cybercab Lot

Executive Summary

Grayson Brulte rode in Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi on launch day in Miami, departing from the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables after over an hour of waits and two cancellations. He estimated only two vehicles were in service on day one, with the ODD closely resembling Houston.

Returning two days later with David Moss, the team discovered a staging lot near Miami International Airport holding 21 Cybercabs and five ready Model Y Robotaxis, signaling Tesla’s plans to ramp up the Miami market. Despite availability challenges, ride quality was praised as flawless, with standout moments including the vehicle yielding to an ambulance and navigating flooded roads at appropriate speed.

Key Field Report Questions Answered

Field Report Topics & Timestamps

[0:00] Robotaxi Miami Launch Day

Grayson Brulte secures the first ride at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables after a long wait, multiple high demand messages, and cancellations including one during a lightning storm. License plate counts point to just two Robotaxis operating on launch day.

[01:56] Smoother Than Houston

The ride operates noticeably smoother than Houston, the third market Grayson Brulte has ridden an unsupervised Robotaxi after Austin and Houston. The service area feels similar to Houston, raising the question of a standardized deployment template.

[02:11] The Roundabout Pattern, Robotaxi and Waymo

A common theme emerges across both the Robotaxi and Waymo rides in Miami. Both vehicles route through roundabouts, a pattern worth monitoring as the markets mature.

[03:29] Yielding to an EMS Vehicle

An EMS vehicle approaches from behind with sirens on. The Robotaxi pulls to the right lane and comes to a full, complete stop, respecting the sirens before continuing.

[04:24] Day Two with David Moss

Two days after launch, Tesla owner David Moss joined Grayson Brulte in the field. Together they visited Tesla’s Miami launch facility and set out to uncover where the fleet is staged.

[04:58] The Staging Lot with Dozens of Cybercabs

On the fringe of Miami International Airport, the team counts a couple dozen Cybercabs on Florida plates alongside roughly a dozen Model Y Robotaxis. The lot sits three miles from Waymo’s airport depot still under construction, a proximity that is not a coincidence.

[09:56] Lost and Found

A previous rider left a wallet and microphones in the back seat. Remote support answers promptly, logs the items, and walks the team through reporting them in the Robotaxi app, a marked contrast to the silent support agent in Houston.

[13:28] Avoiding The Unprotected Left

Rather than take an unprotected left into the Tesla showroom, the Robotaxi routes to a traffic light. A small decision that signals the vehicle’s real-time judgment.

[15:06] The Bark Standoff, Four Minutes and 45 Seconds

A piece of bark falls from a tree into the parking lot. The Robotaxi holds its position for four minutes and 45 seconds before driving over it, longer than ideal but with no remote takeover required.

[16:41] Flooded Streets

Florida rain floods the streets. The Robotaxi drives through two deeply flooded stretches at a steady eight miles per hour without hesitation, the smoothest handling across the three markets.

[18:55] AUTNMY AI

AUTNMY AI is an applied intelligence firm whose mission is to develop a field-tested, ground-truth understanding of how the Autonomy Economy is being built and translate that understanding into the intelligence, foresight, and counsel that help the world’s leading institutional investors navigate the most consequential industrial transition of this century.

Full Field Report Transcript

Grayson Brulte: Here we are. We’re in Miami. We’re in Coral Gables, the famous Biltmore Hotel. Why are we here? Tesla just opened Robotaxi unsupervised in Miami, and we’ve been waiting a long time, multiple 15-minute waits, high service demand waits. And lo and behold, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, we’re able to get as a Robotaxi unsupervised on its way. We’ll let you know how it goes.

As you can see from the sky, it’s rather clear, but there are clouds. This was after waiting for roughly an hour and a half, having Robotaxi cancel on us two times. One time because of a lightning storm, another time unsure, but we didn’t give up. It’s here. Robotaxi unsupervised in Miami on day one. And we’re getting ready to go for a ride and report how it is.

And away we go. Unsupervised Robotaxi in Miami, departing the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. We believe, based on license plate counts, that there is two unsupervised Robotaxis currently operating in Miami on launch day. We’re able to get the vehicle at the Coral Gables at the Biltmore Hotel, and we’re gonna show you as proof here. Look, there is no driver Well, so far so good in robotaxi unsupervised here in Miami. And we got a crew with us today, so you’re gonna get a little bit of a different take on the video.

One thing I wanna highlight and point out to the audience, which as I’m a Floridian, and I’m proud of this, and I gotta give a shout-out to a dear old friend of mine, Chris Emmanuel, who ran autonomous vehicle policy back in the day before going to work for Governor DeSantis for the Florida Chamber. Chris, it happened. They’re Florida plates. Robotaxi that we’re riding in in Florida has Florida plates.

The ride is incredibly, incredibly smooth, and so far it’s operating better than Houston. This is our third market riding an unsupervised robotaxi. We’ve been in Austin, we’ve been in Houston, and now we’re in Miami. A common theme would emerge around riding in both robotaxi in Waymo in Miami: roundabouts. Both the robotaxi and the Waymo vehicle tended to go on routes, as you can see here in robotaxi, with roundabouts. Is this a coincidence? Perhaps, but it’s something we’re going to monitor in the future. So far the ride has been relatively smooth. Actually, frankly, really smooth here in unsupervised robotaxi in Miami.

Getting a lot of questions on X and from friends texting me, “What is it like? What’s the ODD like?” I’ll summarize it this way. This ODD is just like Houston. Very similar to Houston. Is that a sign to, of things to come in new markets as Tesla brings on unsupervised robotaxi? We’re unsure, but we definitely think it’s something to watch. And oh, by the way, when we were riding in the Waymos before they launched commercially, we got the looks. “What is that? Is there a ghost in the car?” Not one look so far here in robotaxi. It simply blends in.

That was an ambulance coming from behind. You could hear it, vroom, with the sirens going. The Tesla pulled to the right-hand lane and it came to a full complete stop. It respected the sirens. Well, we had a wonderful experience in Robotaxi. Based on everything, we can assume that there was two vehicles here in Miami. The ride was flawless. The ODD reminds us a lot of Houston. And we’re gonna be back soon to ride in Robotaxi. To the Tesla team at Robotaxi, one suggestion, please add more cars.

From the experience, awesome. The ambulance situation, awesome. The driving, awesome. The issue, cars and a larger ODD. Messi’s playing in the World Cup today in Miami. Perhaps that’s why we can’t go downtown. You picked a great day to launch, but the demand is super high.

Today’s launch day of Robotaxi in Miami. Well, that was launch day, and then two days later we’re back out in the field again. This time we are joined by David Moss. Yes, that David Moss who does not touch the steering wheel. This time he flew across the country to go ride in Robotaxi with me. We spent the day riding around in unsupervised robotaxis around Miami, visiting Tesla’s launch facility, yes, they do have a launch facility in Miami, and visiting a lot where we uncovered quite a few Cybercabs.

Here’s day two in the field. This time I’m joined by David Moss. The other day we counted three Cybercabs. Today we found 21 Cybercabs in a lot with all Florida plates. Additionally in this lot, there are the Model Ys with the cleaners. The lot located right on the fringe of the Miami International Airport, as you can see, had dozens of Cybercabs.

While we were there, we did not witness one Cybercab go into service. However, based on the size of the lot, the location of the lot, and we wanna emphasize the location even more, right on the fringe of the Miami International Airport, roughly two to three miles from Waymo’s airport depot, there is a lot of synergies here.

To us, this is a clear signal and a clear sign that Tesla is getting ready to ramp up Cybercab in the Miami market As Tesla prepares to ramp up Cybercab in the Miami market, as we all know and we all follow this industry, the Model Y robotaxi is currently available in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Miami. While we were there on day one for launch day, only two vehicles were in service. Two days later, three vehicles were in service. But what we uncovered in this lot near the airport, there were five robotaxis ready to go into service.

The question is, when do those Y’s go into service? And when they do eventually go into service, when do the Cybercabs replace them? That is something to watch While we were looking and counting license plates, we happened to notice something. A robotaxi appeared on its own Notice that one. Did that just come? Yep That’s Robotaxi. It just arrived here at the lot by itself, fully autonomous.

Perhaps this is a staging lot for Tesla’s grand ambitions here in Miami. After going around Miami practic- No, no, no. No, don’t leave. No, no. Did it cancel? It canceled. No. Go block it. What? Finally happened, robotaxi’s here. And to pr- for safety precautions, we’ve opened the door so it cannot drive away from us. David and I have been on a hunt all day to go for a ride in robotaxi in Miami. You could even say it was Moby Dick.

David flew all the way from the West Coast out here. What do you think so far, Dave? We had a fun day so far. What do you thought? I mean, it’s been a memorable day. Take, take the fact we, we’ve been trying since AM to get a ride and it’s now. Take that out of it. I mean, we’ve had a, we’ve had a blast. I don’t think I’ve laughed this hard in a long, long time.

So and we’ll have some fun and we’re about to call support for the guy that left all his stuff in the back, so I’m sure there’ll be some more shenanigans ahead. There’s more shenanigans. It’s, A Tribe Called Quest said, “I once left my wallet in El Segundo.” Now the new song is, “I once left my wallet in robotaxi.” And you think I’m joking? Look at this Somebody left their wallet in robotaxi. Just when you thought we were gonna go, look what happens We’re unable to start your ride.

That’s the second time that’s happened today, Grayson. I got the one this morning said that as well. So please c- All right. please contact support. We’re gonna press the button and call them There’s a lightning alert Hello? Tesla Robotaxi Support. How can I help you? it said we couldn’t start the ride and to call support. Copy that. Let me look into that real quick!

Oh, looks like we are on the move. That, that was unexpected. Is everything gonna be okay? Everything is gonna be okay. Everything’s looking good on my end. Is there anything else I can help you with before I go? Yes. Yeah, the, the guy in front of. The guy, last guy, he left his wallet and some microphones, so we’re- we, we put it in the front seat. But, yeah. Copy that. Appreciate you very much. I’ll make a note of that. if you could also go into the Robotaxi app and report lost and found items that’ll help us get it back to the rightful owner. Okay. Thank you. Of course. Y’all have a good trip. Bye. He, did he fart on the way? I think he just defecated. He might need a new pair of shorts. I mean, I mean, what is this, Al Bundy? We got Al, we got Al Bundy support? Al, help! We need new shorts delivered to Robotaxi Land, pronto David,

I’ve been in robotaxis unsupervised, Austin, Houston. Been my second time here in Miami. It’s your first time. I know we’re just getting started, but boy, man, we had to wait a long time. We never gave up. Oh, we found a few Cybercabs along the way. Field report coming on that, but what do you think so far? I mean, it- it’s a, I mean, a mirac- miraculous experience.

Oh, did you hear that? Did you hear- did you. That’s the compressed air noise, the getting the camera washers ready or I don’t know if they’re just filling the tank back up or what, what that noise is. But that is definitely not a sto- a stock Model Y noise. So that was cool. I don’t know if you’d ever heard that in one of these before. No, I haven’t. I mean, it- it’s been thundering and, and raining all day, so it seems to me the camera was getting cleaned. So far the ride’s been really smooth. We just need more of ’em.

Yep, yep. One in, in f- in four hour, no f- six hours is not, not an acceptable rate. We would’ve been stranded a long time if it wasn’t for my rental car today. Yes. And believe it or not, I actually saw David put his hands on the wheels. I kid you not. I- I saw it with my own two eyes. That’s not true. Don’t say that. Shh. Don’t tell anybody. Okay, I won’t say anything. All right, here’s how quick it, it switches. So we’re here.

We’re just about to turn in, and as soon as it starts the turn we’ll, we’ll press the button, and you see how ultra quick it will adjust in real time. It’s actually quicker than your consumer car somehow. Okay, so we’re committed to the turn, pulling in the McDonald’s parking lot, and it already- Already got us back Instead of taking an unprotected left into where we parked at the Tesla showroom, the, the vehicle, robotaxi, went to a light. What do you make of that move? Guess it just knew we wanted the scenic tour and wanted all the miles we could get. Sentience, coming in two weeks in your own car. You heard it here first.

This man has, has, has, has not touched the wheel in almost 13,000 miles, so he has experience How long do you think until it cleans? I don’t think it’ll do it the rest of the ride, but that was, that’s strange. All right, we have four minutes left on the ride. He doesn’t think it’s gonna happen. I’ll give it a 50/50 shot. Yes, Walt, I’m taking the easy, the easy way out on this one. Let’s see what happens.

Hi, Walt. That’s fair That’s another ride in the books, David. We went through the, the rain or the puddle, as you want to say, the monsoon puddle. The windshield wipers did not go. Walt, I hedged, sorry. David Moss didn’t hedge, he was right. You know what that means? He’s coming back on Autonomy Markets. Let’s do it. One, one cool thing to note is that, so this green color here on the ambient lighting, that’s what’s set on my Model 3, so it s- it synced that as well. Just noticed that, but- David, a piece of bark fell on the road from the tree, and we’ve been stuck, as you’ve timed, three minutes and five seconds.

Who’s going to win, the bark or the robotaxi? Definitely the bark. I don’t see any way we drive over this. I think it’s gonna reverse out or the- they’re gonna have to do a remote takeover. We may be the first to get a remote takeover live on camera in another state. Hopefully- It could happen. Let’s show you the bark. hopefully not, though After four minutes and 45 seconds, robotaxi went over the bark and it didn’t bark Robotaxi continues to impress.

We just went through two deep, I’m gonna call them lagoons. I looked for a creature, didn’t find a creature, but robotaxi went through, no problem, with the Florida rain that caused a flood. What did you think of that? That was super impressive, especially the first one. I mean, it felt like it was like a 10th of a mile long, legitimately long puddle. It stayed at a cool eight miles an hour, the appropriate speed, and it didn’t phase it one bit. It just kept on moving.

Go robotaxi. He doesn’t seem amused And that’s a wrap live from Miami. The future is bright. The future is autonomous. The future is robotaxi.