This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss why Waymo needs fewer robotaxis than you think and Tesla’s emerging plans for a robotaxi network in California.

Waymo continues to scale, surpassing 200,000 paid weekly rides across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. As the service grows, a group of power riders has emerged, including one rider in San Francisco spending over $900 a month on Waymo rides.

In California, Waymo now operates a fleet over 730 autonomous vehicles, while Tesla currently operates zero. That is about to change as Tesla has applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, the same permit Waymo currently operates under. 

If Tesla secures the permit, it will be able to launch a robotaxi service in California, but with two major caveats—fleets and safety drivers. At launch, Tesla owners won’t be able to add their vehicles to the network.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo’s Growing Weekly Paid Rides

3:23 Waymo’s Fleet Efficiency 

9:10 Waymo Power Users

12:01 Waymo’s Consistent Rider Experience 

15:17 Tesla Launches Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China

16:30 Tesla’s Pending California Robotaxi Network 

19:58 Tesla / Waymo Competition 

22:24 Tesla Will Not License FSD

26:00 Autonomous Vehicle Policy

28:55 Wall Street’s View on Autonomy

32:04 Unforced Error of The Week

36:30 Next Week

Recorded on Thursday, February 27, 2025

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