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.
The robotaxi company is adding nearly 250 square miles of service area across five cities where it currently operates: Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a mix of new markets like Nashville and more established ones like the Bay Area.
The news comes as Waymo is reportedly looking to quintuple its current fleet of 4,000 robotaxis, bringing it to 8,000 by the end of this year.
General Motors’ product chief breaks down the company’s software evolution, the physics of multisensor vehicle safety, and why personally owned autonomous vehicles beat robotaxis.
Waymo is reportedly looking to use that $5 billion loan it acquired this month to quintuple its current fleet of 4,000 robotaxis: bringing it to 8,000 by the end of this year, and 20,000 by December 2027. The goal is to expand to more US and international locations, having recently announced it’ll launch in Toronto, Canada by 2028.
Frustrated by federal gridlock, cities and states across the political spectrum are taking matters into their own hands to rein in autonomous vehicles.
Waymo announced that it’s coming to Canada — Toronto to be exact — with the goal of welcoming the first riders in 2028. The robotaxi company, flush with cash but still unprofitable, is increasingly looking at cities outside the US as it seeks to scale its operations. Waymo says it will start with data-gathering, manually driven cars before transitioning to fully autonomous ones. And once it starts its commercial service, Toronto-based Element Fleet Management will handle all the charging, cleaning, and maintenance of the vehicles.
The Alphabet-owned company announced its first debt financing of $5 billion, arranged by Goldman Sachs and a bunch of private credit providers. Earlier this year, Waymo raised $16 billion in equity; this time its debt. As it scales its robotaxi service, Waymo needs to buy more stuff, like cars, sensors, charging stations, and depots. And banks and lenders are more willing to let the company take out loans using that stuff as collateral. At this stage of the game, paying back a loan with interest is cheaper than giving away equity. Waymo’s growing up!
Musk has famously insisted that cameras are enough for his self-driving cars, when everyone else is pairing them with more advanced sensors. Now He’s explicitly said that his Robotaxis can’t run at night because it’s dark — a problem lidar and radar could easily solve.
Under SB 1246, which goes into effect in July 2028, robotaxi operators will face fines of up to $10,000 for each autonomous vehicle that blocks emergency responders for more than 30 minutes.
The law will also require robotaxi companies like Waymo, Tesla, and Zoox to employ remote drivers in the US to take control of the vehicles and move them out of the way — something police and firefighters have had to do themselves.
The company first introduced teen accounts in Phoenix last year, in which riders aged 13-17 can sign up to use the Waymo ridehail app. Now that opportunity is coming to Nashville, where Waymo first started offering rides to the broader public this summer. Teen accounts have to be linked to a parent or guardian, but approved teens will be allowed to ride independently without an adult. The teenagers that got early access were excited about the independence — and the ability to blast their own music. Here’s Nashville teen Asher Huffman, in a quote provided by Waymo:
I really enjoyed being able to hail a ride home from a concert without having to bother my parents, and I even got to show Waymo off to my friend. Getting to play my music as loud as I want, with no one else in the car, was also awesome. Kind of like I was in my own little bubble.”
The EV company announced plans to sell 25,000 vehicles to Estonia-based mobility company Bolt for a robotaxi service in Europe. The robotaxi will be based on Lucid’s upcoming midsized Cosmos vehicle and will be Level 4 capable. This is Lucid’s second major robotaxi deal, after announcing plans to deploy 20,000 vehicles with Uber and Nuro in the US. With Lucid burning cash and facing heavy market pressure, these types of deals are a possible bridge to a more secure financial future.
The electric automaker has until September 30th to answer a series of questions about how its steering-wheel- and pedal-less Cybercab complies with federal safety standards.
The robotaxi company is partnering with taxi operator Nihon Kotsu and ride hailing app GO to offer on demand, 24/7 self-driving rides through both the Waymo and GO apps in 2027. Waymo has been testing its vehicles in Tokyo since 2025, but this is the first time it’s put an official date on the launch of its commercial robotaxi service. The company is eyeing additional overseas markets, including London and Munich.
YouTuber Josh West thought he was going to show his wife a good time by booking a Cybercab for their date night in Austin. Instead, a hard-braking episode left her with a sore neck, and then the Cybercab tried to drop them off in an empty parking lot at night. “Kind of wonky,” an amiable West says. “Definitely work left to do.”
Issues with the butterfly doors and bizarre drop-off locations cloud what is an otherwise impressive, future-forward experience.
Lyft customers hailing a ride in Waymo’s service area (which includes Downtown/Broadway, North Nashville/Germantown, East Nashville, Midtown, and South Nashville) could be matched with a robotaxi. Waymo and Lyft first announced they’d be teaming up for a robotaxi service in Music City nearly a year ago. Lyft is also handling fleet services, such as cleaning, maintenance, and EV charging, through its Flexdrive subsidiary. Customers who would prefer a robotaxi ride can also book one through Waymo’s own app.
Season two of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League put five cars on the track this weekend, and it was going more smoothly than the series’ 2024 debut, for a while.
Unimore Racing suffered a sensor failure while leading the race on lap ten, causing it to suddenly slow down and stop on track, where the second-place Polimove car ran into it — maybe next time they’ll add training data from Hulkenberg or Hadjar.
Road Rage is a new short film in production that casts a murderous autonomous car as the bad guy — and taps into everything people already fear about AI on the road.
Some of the pro-Tesla content creators that the company invited to its closed-door Cybercab event are starting to post their first rides.
Right now, Tesla is holding a private event with a bunch of pro-Tesla influencers to celebrate the “launch” of its autonomous Cybercab vehicle. But in a break from the past, the company is not livestreaming the event. Several influencers posted on X that the company made them sign NDAs and barred them from posting any content until the event is over. Not really the sign of confidence a lot of investors were looking for!
According to the company’s newly launched Robotaxi website, children under the age of 13 are not permitted to ride in the Cybercab — even if they’re riding with an adult. Kids between the ages of 8-13 are allowed in Tesla’s Model Y robotaxis, but only when riding with an adult. And those under 8 are not allowed at all. Even stranger, the Cybercab’s compliance documents (PDF) include detailed instructions for installing child seats. Which is it, Elon?
We still have no word on when this supposed event is taking place. All we know is that it’s in Austin, which predictably has seen a surge of gilded Cybercabs hit the streets. Reuters says it’s supposed to start at 5:45PM ET, citing a Cybercab engineer’s tweet that I can’t seem to verify. Either way, we’ll be monitoring the event and will hopefully have more updates to share later today.
The robotaxi company has accrued more than 8,300 violations in San Francisco since January 2025, according to records obtained by Gazetteer. On average, that’s about 103 tickets a week. Most of the violations appear to be for parking in locations reserved for tour buses, obstructing traffic, or blocking bike lanes.
