Waymo robotaxis achieve 150,000 rides per week

The Google sister company Waymo is expanding its lead in self-driving cars: its robotaxis now make more than 150,000 trips per week with passengers without a human at the wheel. In doing so, the vehicles travel over a million miles autonomously each week, Waymo reported. The company is currently active in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin.

Autonomous Driving in More Places

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, the parent company, pointed out that the Waymo robotaxis, through the agreed cooperation with ride-hailing service Uber, would enter everyday life more quickly in Austin and Atlanta as the fifth city. Waymo will bring autonomous driving to more places.

Musk wants to make Tesla a competitor

With the new milestone, Waymo sends a clear signal to the competition. A few weeks ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented a robotaxi prototype from the electric car manufacturer. He announced that the vehicles are expected to be built from 2026 and forecast an annual production of around two million vehicles. 

Musk has been promising self-driving Teslas for years - but so far they still only have a driver assistance system, where the person at the wheel remains responsible and must be ready to take control at any time. At Waymo, on the other hand, no one sits behind the wheel.