Google’s sister company Waymo is rapidly expanding its robotaxi business ahead of potential arrival of new competitors, notably Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Waymo’s self-driving cars now complete more than 250,000 rides with paying passengers every week, according to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. The company had only reached the milestone of 200,000 rides at the end of February.
Since then, Waymo has launched its service on ride-hailing platform Uber in Austin and expanded its operations from San Francisco into Silicon Valley. Next year, the driverless cars are expected to hit the streets in cities like Washington, D.C.
For the first time, Pichai suggested, during a conference call with analysts, that privately owned vehicles equipped with Waymo’s autonomous driving software could become a possibility in the future. He said the focus remains on developing “the best driver in the world.”
On Thursday, Volkswagen announced plans to introduce self-driving cars via Uber on US roads starting in 2026.
Meanwhile, Musk stated this week that Tesla aims to launch its own robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, by the end of June, initially deploying 10 to 20 vehicles of the compact SUV Model Y.
Musk has repeatedly claimed that most new Tesla vehicles are already equipped with everything needed for autonomous driving.
Musk envisions millions of self-driving Teslas dominating the market and claims Tesla could gain more than 90% of the robotaxi market share. He also announced that autonomous driving for private Tesla owners would be enabled in several US cities by the end of the year.
However, Musk has also been breaking ambitious deadlines for years. So far, Tesla’s Autopilot system functions only as a driver-assistance feature, requiring the driver to remain ready to take control at all times.
Industry experts and competitors remain sceptical of Musk’s bold claims, as Tesla relies solely on cameras rather than the more expensive laser radars (LIDAR) used by companies like Waymo.
Waymo’s use of LIDAR significantly increases the cost of its vehicles, making it more challenging for the Google-affiliated company to operate profitably.
However, LIDAR technology provides the autonomous driving software with much more reliable and detailed information about the surroundings compared to cameras alone.
Meanwhile, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plans to ease reporting requirements for manufacturers in cases of accidents involving driver-assistance systems.
This change could benefit Tesla’s Autopilot system. The NHTSA is currently investigating multiple crashes involving Autopilot.
According to media reports, the NHTSA has also been hit by staff reductions as part of Musk’s cost-cutting measures in the US government. US President Donald Trump had repeatedly assured that there would be no conflicts of interest involving Musk’s ventures.