Wall Street analysts called 2026 the “year of autonomous” driving heading in. Six months into it, the two companies racing hardest toward that future are pursuing fundamentally different bets — and the scoreboard so far favors the more conservative one. The Texas numbers tell the real story. New state filings required under a Texas law that took effect in late May 2026 show Waymo with 577 authorized driverless vehicles in the state versus Tesla’s 42 — a roughly 10-to-1 gap.