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Waymo’s Self-Driving Taxi Reaches Over 50,000 Weekly Paid Rides as Tesla Delays Robotaxi Launch

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James Morales
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Key Takeaways

  • During Alphabet’s Q2 2024 earnings call CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Waymo has surpassed 50,000 weekly paid rides.
  • Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that it would delay the launch of its robotaxi platform until October.
  • With Cruise’s driverless ride-hailing service beset by regulatory challenges, Waymo is cementing its leadership in the space.

Since offering the first driverless rides in 2020, Alphabet’s Waymo has emerged as the leading robotaxi platform in the US. It is one of just two companies licensed to provide the service and the only one currently on the roads. 

Reflecting the project’s de facto monopoly of the American robotaxi market, during a Q2 2024 earnings call Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Waymo has surpassed “well over” 50,000 weekly paid rides. But with Tesla, Cruise and others preparing to launch their own offerings, the company might not be able to maintain its lead for much longer. 

Waymo Leads US Robotaxi Race

Delivering Alphabet’s H2 results  on Tuesday, July 23, Pichai said: “I’m really pleased with the progress Waymo is making, a real leader in space and getting rave reviews from users.”

Against this backdrop, outgoing CFO Ruth Porat announced that the firm had committed to a new multiyear investment of $5 billion to support Waymo’s continued growth and development.

Pichai attributed the platform’s growth to strong demand in San Francisco and Phoenix, adding that fully autonomous testing is underway in other Bay Area locations.

Thanks to its successful rollout in California, Waymo has secured a leading role in the nascent US robotaxi industry. Meanwhile, its primary competitors in the space have been plagued by safety concerns and delays.

Cruise and Tesla Suffer Setbacks

In October, Cruise, the autonomous vehicle unit owned by General Motors, suspended its driverless operations nationwide after regulators in California found that its driverless cars posed a danger to public safety.

Meanwhile, although Elon Musk previously told Tesla shareholders the company would launch its own robotaxi initiative on August 8, in an earnings call  this week he pushed the deadline back to  October 10.

Explaining the delay, Musk said he wanted to implement design changes that would improve the vehicle. “Moving [the launch date] back a few months allowed us to improve the Robotaxi as well as add in a couple of other things for the product unveil,” he observed.

Initial news of the setback cut the auto maker’s stock market rally short, precipitating the biggest single-day price drop for Tesla shares this year on July 12 and further entrenching Waymo’s lead.

With Alphabet scoring an important victory for its autonomous driving division, Pichai also took the opportunity on Tuesday to announce a change of leadership at the Google parent company.

Leadership Transition at Alphabet

Marking the biggest changes to Alphabet’s C-suite since 2023, Ruth Porat, the big Tech firm’s long-serving CFO, is transitioning to a new role as President and Chief Investment Officer. 

Her successor Anat Ashkenazi joins Alphabet from Eli Lilly and Company, where she was previously the CFO. 

Commenting on Ashkenazi’s appointment last month, Pichai praised her “track record of strategic focus on long-term investment to fuel innovation.”

He emphasized the “incredible opportunity” created by AI, stating: “I look forward to working with Anat as we invest responsibly to support our next wave of growth.”

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