Gifts for Stereotypical Austinites

Our holiday gift guide: What to buy for the stereotypical Austinite

With Thanksgiving gone, it's time to focus on the coming flurry of gift-giving holidays. Luckily, CultureMap has you covered.

Everyone has an opinion about Austin — and the fine people who live here — so why not make a list poking fun at the reputation we've garnered? Today we present the first installment in our Holiday Gift Guides: What to buy for the stereotypical Austinite.

The best part is that, stereotyped or not, we'd all probably like to find a few these under our tree.

Since we're not "from" Austin:
Filson Medium Duffle Bag
Stag, $325

Since everyone living in Austin is from, well, not Austin, we spend a lot time schlepping home for the holidays. Might as well make sure your beloved Austinite travels in style with this bag from South Congress boutique Stag. While Stag is technically a men's shop, this durable and stylish tote is perfect for men or women.

Since we all have dogs:
Melly Collar - Brody
Mellycollars.com, $24.95

Handmade in Austin, these Martingale-style collars come in a variety of colors and patterns, including a bunch of reflective options perfect for walking your pooch at night. As if stylish collars weren't enough, Melly donates a collar to area rescue organizations like Austin Pets Alive! with every purchase.

Want to check them out in person before you buy? Mellys are available at independent retailers around town.

Since we only drink beer:
Local beers
Whip In, prices vary

There is no shortage of fantastic local breweries in Austin. Want to surprise the Austinite in your life? Head to Whip In and grab enough beers from these local breweries to stock the fridge: Austin Beerworks, Hops & Grain, Argus Cidery, (512) Brewing Company, Jester King Brewery, Kamala Brewing, Rogness Brewing Company, Real Ale, Adelberts Brewery, St. Arnold Brewing Company, Independence Brewing Co., Thirsty Planet Brewing and Guadalupe Brewing Company are all available at this South Austin staple.

Bonus? Pick up a Whip In growler and have the bartender fill it up from the draught. Delish! Double bonus? Grab yourself lunch; you'll need fuel for your holiday shopping.

Since we're all obsessed with breakfast tacos:
Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day by Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece
BookPeople, $14.99

Local "taco journalists" Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece have been blogging about Austin's favorite food for a while, but last summer they complied the best of their work into a tome dedicated to the delicious breakfast taco. With suggestions for best places to grab a bite and more than 40 recipes to test out at home, this book will make sure that no one in Austin is ever deprived of the most important taco of the day.

Bonus? If you want to go the extra mile, order directly from Rayo and Neece's blog and receive a signed copy.

Since we live for barbecue:
Fire cupping session
Hiatus Spa + Retreat, $45 a la carte

Standing in line
Franklin Barbecue, free

So here's the thing about living in Austin. Since everyone from Texas Monthly to Anthony Bourdain to Bon Appetit named Franklin Barbecue the best in the country, people have flocked to the little shop on East 11th Street, bringing with them a very, very long line.

Want to create the ultimate day of indulgence for your Bat City giftee? Stick with the fire theme and book them an early reservation for a fire cupping session at Hiatus Spa + Retreat. While they're being pampered and detoxified, offer to spend your morning in line at Franklin. When they emerge from their treatment, you can retoxify them with gift of some of the best barbecue in the world — and the luxury of waltzing right in with you.

(Disclaimer: this might not make you the most popular person with your fellow line-waiters, but it's guaranteed to score you mad gift-giving points.)

We don't want you to move here:
"Welcome to Austin" T-shirt
Kong Screenprint via Etsy, $20.00

Maybe we should have kept our mouths shut about Austin's barbecue, beer and babes, because like it or not, people just keep coming here. In 2012, Bruce Braden and Ryan Burkhart of Kong Screenprinting printed their "Welcome to Austin, please don't move here" T-shirts, which proved so popular people have started creating imposter shirts.

We only watch movies at places we can eat or drink:
Gift cards
Various cinemas, various prices

Austinites love to go to other cities and complain about the movie theater. "Oh, you don't have a waitress at this Regal? Well in Austin …"

But it's true. Why go to a "normal" movie theater when you can watch Hunger Games while sipping a 512 Pecan Porter and eating a basket of queso fries? Violet Crown Cinema, Alamo Drafthouse and iPic Theaters all offer gift cards for the cinefile in your life. There really is nothing better than scoring the couch in the back of the Alamo Ritz or a chaise lounge in the first row at Violet Crown.

We only eat locally, organically grown and seasonal:
CSA Box
Johnson's Backyard Garden, $33 per delivery

We patronize Wheatsville Co-op, the city's bevy of farmers' markets and restaurants where we know the produce is as fresh and local as possible. Even when we go to Central Market, the grocer in the produce aisle will saunter over to fill us in on the exact location of the farm where our carrots were grown.

Surprise your loved one with a home delivery of a Johnson's Backyard Garden CSA box. For $33, the person on the receiving end will get a large box of local, seasonal and organic produce delivered right to his or her front door.

It's not just JBG that offers these boxes; Green Gate Farms and Urban Roots Farm also offer CSA box memberships.

We are stuck in traffic all the time:
One audio book per month
Audible, $150.00

This American Life app
iTunes, $2.99

For a relatively small city, Austinites spend a lot of time commuting. A mile on I-35 during rush hour can easily take the better part of an hour. Want to give us the best gift ever? Give us the gift of distraction. A yearly subscription to Audible allows users to download one book a month directly through the company's app.

In case one book a month isn't enough to get through the grind, surprise your Austin loved one with the This American Life app, which brings the show's entire 18-year history directly to your smartphone. For $2.99, it's a true bargain.

Pick up a copy of the quintessential Austin breakfast taco guide.

Photo courtesy of Joel Salcido

Pick up a copy of the quintessential Austin breakfast taco guide.

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Self-driving News

Tesla's robotaxi service is now self-driving around downtown Austin

Getty Images

For now, the robotaxis will have safety drivers on board in case they need to intervene.

Tesla’s much-hyped robotaxi service launched in Austin on Sunday, but with Tesla employees in the passenger seat due to safety concerns.

According to an announcement reported by invite-only passengers, safety drivers will be on board the Model Y cars, with the ability to steer or stop the vehicles if needed. Rides will also reportedly be limited to 6 am to midnight and operate within a restricted area of Downtown Austin in order to avoid complex and difficult intersections.

The cars will be running a new version of Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) Unsupervised software, which relies on eight external cameras attached around the vehicle. That’s unlike Waymo’s robotaxis, which already operate in Austin and have multiple lidar sensors, six radars, and 29 cameras that protrude off the vehicles. Tesla rides will be unavailable in inclement weather as rain can obscure some of its cameras.

The Tesla fleet will start out small and be open only to invited passengers using an app. In an interview with CNBC in May, CEO Elon Musk said the Austin robotaxi service will start with around 10 vehicles before expanding to "thousands" of vehicles, should the launch go smoothly. Musk said Tesla will bring its robotaxis to Los Angeles and San Francisco after the Austin debut.

On Sunday, Musk offered some congratulations on the launch.

"Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!" Musk wrote on social platform X. "Culmination of a decade of hard work. Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla."

— (@)

Last week, state lawmakers called on Tesla to pause its robotaxi plans in Austin. State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt and six other Texas Democrats urged Tesla to wait until September, when a new state law takes effect.

Under that law, autonomous vehicles will have to be able to comply with traffic laws, and they must have a recording device on board. They also will need to be capable of minimizing risk if the automated driving system breaks.

Additionally, operators must submit a “First Responder Interaction Plan” to the Texas Department of Public Safety, detailing how first responders should interact with the autonomous vehicles, including how to communicate with fleet support, safely remove or tow vehicles, and recognize whether a vehicles is being operated with the automated driving system engaged.

Musk bets cabs will give Tesla a lift after boycotts and sales plunge

Musk promised in 2019 that driverless Tesla robotaxis would be on the road “next year,” but it didn’t happen. A year later, he promised to deliver them the next year, but that didn’t happen either.

Despite the empty pledges the promises kept coming. Last year in January, Musk said, “Next year for sure, we’ll have over a million robotaxis.”

The stakes couldn't be higher, nor the challenges.

While Musk was making those “next year” promises, rival Waymo was busy deploying driverless taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin, and other cities by using a different technology that allowed it to get to market faster. It just completed its 10 millionth paid ride.

Boycotts related to Musk's politics have tanked Tesla's sales. Rival electric vehicle makers with newly competitive models have stolen market share. And investors are on edge after a $150 billion stock wipeout when Musk picked a social media fight with President Donald Trump, who was overseeing federal car regulators who could make the robotaxi rollout much more difficult. The stock has recovered somewhat after Musk said he regretted some of his remarks.

Tesla shareholders have stood by Musk over the years because he’s defied the odds by building a successful standalone electric vehicle company — self-driving car promises aside — and making them a lot of money in the process. A decade ago, Tesla shares traded for around $18. The shares closed Friday at $322.

Some Musk watchers on Wall Street are skeptical.

“How quickly can he expand the fleet?” asks Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA. “We're talking maybe a dozen vehicles initially. It's very small."

Morningstar's Seth Goldstein says Musk is being classic Musk: Promising too much, too quickly.

“When anyone in Austin can download the app and use a robotaxi, that will be a success, but I don't think that will happen until 2028," he says. “Testing is going to take a while.”

Musk's tendency to push up the stock high with a bit of hyperbole is well known among investors.

In 2018, he told Tesla stockholders he had “funding secured” to buy all their shares at a massive premium and take the company private. But he not only lacked a written commitment from financiers, according to federal stock regulators who fined him, he hadn't discussed the loan amount or other details with them.

More recently, Musk told CNBC in May that Tesla was experiencing a “major rebound” in demand. A week later an auto trade group in Europe announced sales had plunged by half.

Musk has come under fire for allegedly exaggerating the ability of the system used for its cars to drive themselves, starting with the name. Full Self-Driving is a misnomer. The system still requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road because they may need to intervene and take control at any moment.

Read the full story at KVUE.com.