Nevada regulators cleared the way for Tesla, Uber, and Waymo to run thousands of robotaxis statewide, intensifying a three-way scramble for autonomous-ride supremacy. Meanwhile Waymo pressed its advantage on the ground, flipping the switch on full robotaxi service in Houston — its first complete rollout in a major Texas city. Together the moves show Waymo racing to lock in both regulatory runway and real-world mileage before rivals catch up.
Uber is moving on two fronts at once: a deal with China's Pony.ai to deploy 2,000 robotaxis across Europe, and an expansion into Japan, where a Tokyo pilot is underway. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called Japan a 'terrific' market for the company, framing the rollout as proof that Uber can scale autonomous rides globally by stacking partnerships rather than building its own self-driving tech. The strategy bets that sheer fleet size and geographic reach can outpace the regulatory and technical snags that have dogged robotaxi rivals.
As Waymo's robotaxis multiply, so does its appetite for Washington influence: the company has doubled its lobbying budget to outmaneuver Uber in state-by-state fights over autonomous vehicle rules, according to the Financial Times. Meanwhile, The Atlantic argues Democrats have flunked an easy test of technological competence by fumbling their response to driverless taxis, leaving the field open for companies like Waymo to write their own rules.
As Waymo's driverless cars spread, the reactions are piling up from every direction. In San Francisco, Amazon's Zoox is angling to challenge Waymo for market share; Lyft is musing about a future where its human drivers service Waymo's fleet instead of competing with it; and in Minneapolis, city officials are weighing a rule that would force Waymo to keep a human behind the wheel, citing fears for rideshare jobs.
As Waymo and its robotaxi rivals race to add cities and rides, the messier side of that expansion is surfacing. In Dallas, a pedestrian was struck by two vehicles, one a Waymo car; nationally, reporting shows robotaxi operators are hitting unexpected snags — construction zones, emergency scenes — faster than they can patch them. A comparison of two major U.S. operators found stark safety gaps, with one logging 14 crashes in 800,000 miles despite a human safety driver up front. Meanwhile, a federal judge in San Francisco refused to let Waymo keep running its cars overnight while it appeals a regulatory ban, underscoring how far ahead of oversight the technology is moving.
Hertz-backed autonomous vehicle outfit Oro Mobility says it has now logged more than 6 million testing miles as its robotaxi partnership with Uber edges toward commercial launch. The milestone comes as investor Gary Black makes the case that Uber — not Tesla or Waymo — is best positioned to bring robotaxis to a mass market, a bullish read that dovetails with Oro's progress.