Self-driving cars are finally here, and how they are deployed will change how we get around forever. From Tesla to Google to Uber to all the major automakers, we bring you complete coverage of the race to develop fully autonomous vehicles. This includes helpful explanations about the technology and policies that underpin the movement to build driverless cars.
Turns out, if you leave a Waymo door open,someone gets paid to close it, opening up some novel opportunities for improving the economy.
tsmuse:
So you’re saying we can create jobs if we call a bunch of waymos, open their doors, and then walk away?
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Since Waymo doesn’t have a vehicle with automatic doors, it has to pay on gig workers for help. (The Washington Post covered this phenomenon recently.) Just another example ofthe invisible human labor that’s required tokeep these autonomous systems afloat.
Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana toldBloomberg the robotaxi company was on track to reach the 1 million weekly rides milestone by the end of 2026. The company is currently provides about 400,000 rides per week across six US cities. Waymo just announced thatits sixth-generation vehicle is going to start accepting passengers in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Chinese automotive publicationGasgoo says the new companies are in talks to dramatically increase Waymo’sfleet of Hyundai EVs. The deal could be worth around $2.5 billion, assuming $50,000 per vehicle. But even if the report is true, don’t expect Waymo’s robotaxi fleet to suddenly grow by 50,000: the company has said it plans onadding only 2,000 more vehicles in 2026, for a total fleet size of 3,500. Waymo is currently testing and validating the Ioniq 5 and the Zeekr RT as its next two robotaxis.
Say that five times really fast! Uber has said it would useBaidu’s Apollo Go robotaxisin London, and now the company isadding Dubai as well, starting in March 2026.
As Waymo usesAI-generated 3D worlds to simulate driverless cars’ encounters with tornadoes, floods, and even elephants, one commenter wonders if they could try AIschool buses next.
cowboyfromspace:
They got elephants down but forgot about school buses?
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I’ve been seeing a lot ofposts andarticles claiming that Waymo’s robotaxis are being secretly controlled by teleoperators in the Philippines. The claims stem froma Senate Commerce Committee hearing this week, during which a top Waymo executive told Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) that the company employs some remote operators overseas. But he was also clear that those operators aren’t actually controlling the vehicles. I watched all two hours of the hearing, and here’s what Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer, had to say:
They do not remotely drive the vehicles. As you stated, Waymo asks for guidance in certain situations. And it’s an input, but the Waymo vehicle is always in charge of the dynamic driving tasks.
Now, as tosome other robotaxi operators…
Geely may build cars in the US, but their software still has to follow cybersecurity restrictions.
By trying to drive more assertively, Waymo appears to be adopting some dangerous human habits.
A Waymo made the unfortunate decision to drive on light rail tracks in Phoenix with a passenger insidewhile a train was approaching. The passenger made the right call to abandon the robotaxis, even if it meant getting out in the middle of traffic. Valley Metro, which oversees light rail service, says there wereno significant delays as a result of the incident. This comes a few weeks after a blackout causeda massive Waymo traffic jam in San Francisco.
Waymo has a new name for itsZeekr-produced autonomous minivans that are set to roll out this year. Ojai, named for the city northwest of Los Angeles, was chosen because most American consumers aren’t familiar withthe Geely-owned Zeekr brand,according toInsideEVs. That may be true, but try saying “Waymo Ojai” five times really fast.
The chipmaker is making a big bet on self-driving cars. And it’s making quick progress too.
In addition to anupdate for itspower outage problem, Waymo is also working on an AI Ride Assistant. That’saccording to security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who found details on the bot’s system prompt from Waymo’s mobile app code.
When a substation fire cut off electricity across the city, Waymo SUVs stuck at malfunctioning stoplightsquickly became another headache, andnow the company is explaining it as an issue of too manyremote operator assistance requests:
While the Waymo Driver is designed to handle dark traffic signals as four-way stops, it may occasionally request a confirmation check to ensure it makes the safest choice. While we successfully traversed more than 7,000 dark signals on Saturday, the outage created a concentrated spike in these requests. This created a backlog that, in some cases, led to response delays contributing to congestion on already-overwhelmed streets.
The EV maker was known for its outdoor-themed off-roaders. Why is it now chasing Elon Musk down an AI rabbit hole?
The robotaxi operator had a pretty good year,one dead bodega cat notwithstanding. As such, its looking to extend its streak by raising $15 billion on a $100 billion valuation, according toBloomberg. The money would help fuel its plans toexpand to 20 new cities in 2026, including London and Tokyo.
