Waymo dropped its invite gate in three more cities on Wednesday. Starting Oct. 14, anyone in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa can download the Waymo app and hail a fully autonomous ride, the company said in a post on its Waypoint blog, and that includes trips to and from San Antonio International Airport.
The Waymo Help Center announcement spells out the change: “no invite code required,” with San Antonio’s airport “now available to all.” Waymo repeated the news in an X post shortly after noon Eastern: “No more waiting for access—simply download the Waymo app and ride today.”
Waymo says it has welcomed “hundreds of thousands of riders” across the three cities since it began service there earlier this year.
From waitlist to open app
All three cities started with gradual, invite-based access. Waymo’s announcement log shows it began welcoming San Antonio riders on Feb. 24, alongside Dallas, Houston and Orlando, and added pickups at San Antonio International Airport on March 31 for riders who already had access. Tampa and San Diego, along with Denver, started taking riders gradually on Sept. 1.
In San Antonio, the service area runs from the King William neighborhood to Wurzbach Parkway, covering downtown, the River Walk, the Alamo, the Henry B. González Convention Center, Hemisfair and North Star Mall, News 4 San Antonio reported.
In Tampa, Waymo serves nearly 50 square miles, from Hyde Park to Northwest Park and Temple Crest and from Westshore to Highland Pines, WFLA reported. Since September, Tampa residents could schedule rides only with an activation code.
San Diego’s launch area was about 50 square miles, from the beach to Interstate 15 and covering Mission Bay and downtown, Axios San Diego reported on Sept. 1. At launch, Waymo told Axios its San Diego cars would not go to the airport or use highways right away. The California Public Utilities Commission had issued Waymo’s final San Diego permit in August over objections from the Metropolitan Transit System.
Who Waymo quoted
Waymo’s post leaned on local voices. “Waymo offering fully autonomous rides at the airport marks a significant milestone for Waymo, our city and travelers,” said Jesus Saenz, director of airports for the City of San Antonio Aviation Department.
Bob Kelly, founder and CEO of the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation, called the service a matter of inclusion for older adults. In Tampa, Scott Young, board chair of Lighthouse for the Blind & Low Vision, said transportation is “the number one barrier” to independence for his organization’s clients. “With Waymo, they get their independence back,” he said.
What it means for Tesla
Tampa is the piece that matters for Tesla. Tesla’s Robotaxi page lists six metros where it offers autonomous rides: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Waymo’s announcement log shows it opened Miami and Orlando to everyone on April 15, Dallas on Aug. 4 and Houston on Aug. 20. In Austin, Waymo rides run through Uber, and Waymo’s FAQ says “anyone can ride with Waymo” there today.
With Wednesday’s change, Tampa was the last of those six where Waymo still required an invite. Now a rider in every city on Tesla’s list can open an app and hail a Waymo without waiting for access.
Not every Waymo market is open yet. Waymo’s FAQ still lists Las Vegas, where it began adding riders gradually on Sept. 14, as a city where it is “welcoming riders,” and on Oct. 13 it began serving Nashville International Airport for a limited number of riders, according to its Help Center.
Photo: Waymo Ojai vehicles built on the Zeekr platform at Waymo’s Bayshore depot, December 2025, by Dllu via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; resized. File photo.
