All articles tagged with #robotaxi
Two California teens allegedly drank alcohol and fired a gel-bead shooter from a Waymo robotaxi; the car stopped, alerted 911, and police detained them. Waymo’s rider rules ban alcohol for minors, require an accompanying adult for riders under 18, and forbid throwing objects or weapons. The incident illustrates how the robotaxi can enforce rider guidelines through its cameras and systems, with no DUI charge reported.
Waymo will begin offering fully driverless robotaxi rides in four new U.S. cities—San Diego, Las Vegas, Tampa, and Denver—starting with employee pilots before a broader public rollout, expanding its lead in the U.S. autonomous-vehicle market; the company plans London service later this year and had about 4,000 robotaxis in its fleet as of May.
Tesla shares rose about 1.5% after the company expanded its Full Self-Driving-powered Robotaxi service into parts of Miami, broadening its autonomous mobility network. Initial operations are limited to western/central Miami, with downtown and Miami Beach not yet served, following an earlier deployment in Austin. The move positions Tesla closer to competition with Waymo as it scales in more U.S. markets.
During San Francisco’s Fourth of July celebrations, some Waymo robotaxis stalled, ran out of charge while idling, or were towed amid severe gridlock, prompting the company’s roadside assistance to respond; Waymo said the disruptions were due to traffic and coordination with authorities, with no injuries reported. The company operates about 2,500 robotaxis across several US cities and relies on a multisensor system (29 cameras, five lidars, six radars) to drive autonomously.
Zoox’s driverless taxi, which has no steering wheel and a train-car-like interior, has logged hundreds of thousands of rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco but is encountering real-world rider misbehavior—smoking, vomiting, and even sex—prompting engineers to redesign interiors with moisture- and odor-resistant materials for quicker cleanup as it expands to Austin and Miami, a challenge echoed across the robotaxi industry (e.g., Waymo).
Analysts expect Tesla to report 406,024 vehicle deliveries in Q2 and 13.8 GWh of energy deployments, a figure that reinforces the ongoing shift in narrative from quarterly car-delivery momentum to Tesla’s broader bets on autonomous ride-hailing, FSD capabilities, and energy storage, while acknowledging that the auto business remains foundational.
Amazon-backed Zoox unveiled a production-intent redesign of its toaster-shaped robotaxi, adding more comfortable seats, better interior features, and larger bidirectional reflectors for easier front/rear distinction as it moves toward a broader U.S. rollout and paid rides later this year; the company aims to scale production at its Bay Area hub to about 10,000 vehicles annually, while awaiting NHTSA approval for commercial operation of up to 2,500 vehicles, with pilots in select cities and a Uber partnership in Las Vegas.
Uber and Lucid announce Houston as the second city for their robotaxi service, with autonomous rides expected in 2027 after San Francisco; Intel says its 18A-P process node has entered initial production as part of its turnaround to compete with TSMC. The broader news slate also includes SpaceX planning to buy Cursor for $60 billion and Microsoft unveiling Surface laptops/Pro devices powered by Snapdragon X2 CPUs.
EPA documents confirm Tesla’s Cybercab weighs 3,113 lb curb, uses a 163 kW (219 HP) front-wheel-drive motor with a 47.6 kWh lithium-ion pack (146 Ah) and ~53.4 kWh charging energy, delivering an unadjusted 418.2-mile combined EPA range (375.4 miles highway). The vehicle has a GVWR of 3,730 lb and about 617 lb payload; charging is primarily wireless. It entered commerce on May 29, 2026, but unsupervised autonomy has not been approved.
Tesla has 69 unsupervised Robotaxi licenses in Texas (up from 42), but actual deployments remain limited; the roundup also highlights OpenAI and Nvidia reportedly pursuing a 10 GW Ohio data center backed by SoftBank, Amazon's $17.5 billion line of credit for AI infrastructure, and Solana's deal with the World Series of Poker to enable crypto payments.
Texas enables commercial driverless transport; Tesla self-certified its robotaxi FSD as Level 4, taking on liability for autonomous operation in defined conditions, while consumer Teslas remain at Level 2; in Austin, the robotaxis are geofenced and receive extra training, marking a milestone without altering rules for consumer vehicles.
Waymo has begun offering limited free rides in its new Ojai robotaxi—the first purpose-built Waymo vehicle—with the 6th-generation Driver across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The Ojai emphasizes rider experience and accessibility, features a spacious rear cabin and easier entry, and uses a redesigned hardware stack that cuts sensors by about 42% while increasing capability, enabling snow operation and lowering unit costs to under $20,000. Waymo has now surpassed 20 million autonomous trips in 11 cities and plans broader geographic and production expansion from its Arizona factory to tens of thousands of units per year, while continuing to scale to additional markets beyond the initial three.
Waymo has paused its freeway robotaxi operations in major U.S. cities to update software aimed at safer performance around construction zones and flooded roads. Street and off-highway services continue, while recalls related to software defects and flood-related incidents have prompted safety fixes. The company expects to resume freeway routes after the software updates, as it continues broader expansion.
Buckhead residents report a surge of Waymo autonomous vehicles circling residential cul-de-sacs, many appearing empty and lingering around roundabouts for hours. The puzzling routing has caused traffic concerns and frustration as locals seek responses from Waymo and officials. Waymo says routing issues have been addressed and emphasizes safety and community relations across its nationwide service.
Waymo’s flooded-road incident shows a perception-to-action flaw: sensors clearly detected water and the car slowed, but the decision stack chose a risky continuation, prompting a recall of 3,791 vehicles while a permanent fix is developed. The piece contrasts sensor architectures across platforms (Tesla Vision, Uber Avride, Zoox) to illustrate how each handles water hazards and edge cases, underscoring that riders must know which system they’re on and whether flood-detection logic has been patched.