Uber Teams up With Waymo to Launch Driverless Rides in Austin Ahead of Tesla’s Planned Rollout

Key Takeaways

• Uber has partnered with Google-owned Waymo to offer driverless rides for users in Austin, Texas.
• The move puts Waymo ahead of Elon Musk’s Tesla, which is also preparing to launch a ride-hailing service in the city.
• Tesla’s autonomous driving goals have suffered a string of setbacks.

Uber has begun offering driverless vehicles in Austin, Texas, in a partnership with Waymo, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project.

The partnership puts Google-owned Waymo ahead of Elon Musk’s Tesla, which is also preparing to launch a ride-hailing service in the area.

Although Tesla has long been at the forefront of the autonomous vehicle race, the company has been held back by multiple hurdles, including regulatory scrutiny and safety concerns.

Uber Launches Driverless Waymo Rides in Austin

The Waymo and Uber partnership, announced in September, will begin in Austin and eventually aim to expand into more U.S. cities.

Uber’s driverless vehicles will be randomly chosen for users ordering a ride through the app.

However, users will receive a notification that they can switch back to a human driver if they are assigned to a Waymo driverless ride.

“With Waymo’s technology and Uber’s proven platform, we’re ready to bring you the ride of the future, today,” Uber said in a blog post.

Waymo continues to offer driverless rides through its app, and its robotaxi fleet currently averages 200,000 paid rides a week.

Tesla’s Shift to Austin

In late January, Tesla boss Elon Musk said that the electric vehicle company would roll out “autonomous ride-hailing for money” by June in Austin.

The comments highlighted Musk’s shift to the state of Texas, which is known for its relaxed regulation. Tesla has come under fire for the safety of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating multiple Tesla crashes involving the Autopilot feature since August 2021.

In April 2024, the NHTSA said they had identified at least 13 fatal crashes involving the Autopilot feature.

The U.S. safety regulator said, “Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities,” resulting in a “critical safety gap.”

Tesla has repeatedly blamed its customers for accidents involving its driver-assistance systems, highlighting that its vehicles warn users to remain ready for driving.

However, deploying fully driverless taxis in Austin will place the entire crash liability on the company.

Tesla Going Solo

On Friday, Feb. 28, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that Musk was not interested in making Tesla’s planned robotaxis available with the ride-hailing platform.

“I’ve had conversations with him at this point,” Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg in an interview . “They want to build it alone, so to some extent in Austin, we and Waymo will be competing with Tesla when they launch.”

Uber has bolstered its self-driving technology through a string of partnerships to compete against an influx of new potential rivals.

Although Uber has partnered with Waymo, the Google-owned company still offers rides on its own platform and plans to expand into more cities.

“Life is long, but we would love to partner with them,” Khosrowshahi added.