Waymo sends Tesla back to school!

Without drums or trumpets, Waymo, Tesla’s major rival in the robotaxi sector, is taking a lead.

Waymo has just accelerated its efforts in the autonomous vehicle battle. According to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Google’s subsidiary now has 1,429 vehicles in service in California, with a large majority in the San Francisco Bay Area. For comparison, there were only 300 in March.

The scale of this ramp-up is spectacular: over 2,000 Waymo vehicles are operating in the United States, compared to 1,500 in the spring. Phoenix hosts about 400, Los Angeles has 500, and Austin now benefits from an expanded service area of 150 square kilometers.

Tesla, on the other hand, is moving more cautiously. Elon Musk’s company recently expanded its robotaxi area around Austin to 280 square kilometers but remains far behind in the number of vehicles deployed. This difference in strategy also reflects a technological divergence: Waymo relies on LiDAR, deemed safer by many experts, while Tesla relies solely on cameras and its “vision-only” system.

This confrontation illustrates two visions of autonomy. For Tesla, the key lies in the vast amount of data collected by the millions of cars already on the roads. For Waymo, the focus is on operational presence, with a visible and functional fleet capable of attracting users and regulators.

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In the short term, the duel clearly favors Waymo. With its omnipresent robotaxis on California streets, the company positions itself as the operational leader in the sector. Tesla maintains its global ambitions but sees its rival widen the gap.

A strong signal: the future of robotaxis is no longer played out in promises but in the reality of the numbers.

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