I wrote about robotaxis for AutoInfluence earlier this year, but given how quickly the sector is evolving, it’s no surprise major news would soon pop up again. On June 22, Tesla officially jumped into the autonomous taxi arena, rolling out its service to select riders in Austin, Texas. Founder Elon Musk promised the service would arrive “soon” as far back as 2019. Finally, “soon” is now.
With this news, I thought it was time to revisit the topic of robotaxis and do an unofficial round-up. My last article discussed the roadblocks to self-driving taxis. Today, I want to discuss what has overcome the obstacles. This overview will look at what brands currently have robotaxi services, where they’re offered, how the services are faring, and what expansion plans they have.
Tesla
For now, Austin is the only location where you can hail a self-driving Tesla taxi. Further expansion will occur based on performance and demand. The initial rollout consists of 12 to 20 Tesla Model Y SUVs with a flat fee of $4.20 per ride. These vehicles use the latest edition of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. Although there isn’t a driver, the taxis have a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat who can take over.
Eventually, along with adding locations, Tesla hopes to use specially designed robotaxis instead of variations on its consumer EVs. Concepts for the Cybercab sedan and 20-passenger Robovan were introduced in October 2024. As things stand, Tesla hopes to start production on the Cybercab sometime in 2026, with no timeline set for the Robovan.
Unfortunately, Tesla’s robotaxi launch was shaky. The first week saw numerous reports ranging from minor traffic violations to random braking, driving on the wrong side of the road, and even trying to drop passengers off in the middle of an intersection. Tesla will need to iron out these bugs to gain the trust of customers and regulators.
Waymo
Tesla is competing against the market leader in Austin. That’s Waymo, an offshoot of Alphabet Inc. and Google that serves an average of 250,000 riders a week. As I write this, the Waymo One autonomous taxi service is available in seven U.S. markets.
- San Francisco, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Silicon Valley, California
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Miami, Florida
- Austin, Texas
- Atlanta, Georgia
Further expansion is coming. Waymo recently announced it will start serving Washington, D.C., in 2026, the first location where it snows. It has also filed for a New York City permit and is doing preliminary mapping in several other U.S. cities, such as Boston, New Orleans, Houston, Las Vegas, and Dallas. Finally, it is testing self-driving taxis in Tokyo, which would be the company’s first international market.
Currently, the primary ride-hailing vehicle for Waymo One customers is the Jaguar I-PACE EV, which uses fifth-gen Waymo Driver software and seats up to four passengers. Pricing varies depending on distance, day, and time. Also of note is that the Austin and Atlanta markets are in partnership with Uber, which is ironic since Waymo once sued Uber for stealing trade secrets.
Zoox
A third company hoping to make an impact is Zoox, a subsidiary of Alphabet’s rival Amazon. Zoox was the first company approved by California for public self-driving transportation. However, despite receiving regulatory approval in December 2018, Zoox is not yet offering the service publicly in California, or anywhere else, for that matter.
It’s on the horizon, though. Zoox has been testing self-driving taxis on public roads in San Francisco, Foster City, California (where it’s headquartered), and Las Vegas since 2023. The company aims to be ready to accept paying passengers by the end of 2025. In the meantime, Zoox signed a deal as the official robotaxi provider for Resorts World Las Vegas.
Recently, Zoox has expanded its testing. Confirmed cities include Seattle, Los Angeles, Austin (TX), Miami, and Atlanta. You’ll notice there is a lot of overlap with Waymo’s current cities, as these large urban areas are the best candidates for robotaxi services.
A big part of the delay is that while Waymo and Tesla started with existing vehicles, Zoox wants to wait until its in-house robotaxi vehicle is completed. This has been a sticking point, as U.S. safety laws require a vehicle to have a steering wheel and pedals, and Zoox’s vehicle lacks both. After an investigation, the NHTSA issued an exemption in August 2025 that will allow Zoox to begin operating.
May Mobility
This Toyota-backed robotaxi company is notable for serving different markets than other companies and keeping prices incredibly low. The low pricing is due to its focus on efficiency, selling sponsorships on its vehicles, and integrating into publicly funded transportation systems. May Mobility has also partnered with Uber to scale its services.
That said, there is only one market where May Mobility rides are truly driverless. It’s Peachtree Corners, Georgia (part of Greater Atlanta), where riders can hail a free autonomous taxi Monday through Friday. May Mobility previously offered driverless vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Sun City, Arizona, but exited those markets in early 2025. It hopes to transition some of its Arlington, Texas, vehicles to self-driving by the end of the year.
For now, all their other markets, including Detroit, Miami, Grand Rapids, and Martinez, California, are semi-autonomous. The hours are also very restricted in some cases. For example, the Martinez cabs are only open to the public from 6:00 to 9:30 PM local time. Nevertheless, May Mobility is worth keeping an eye on.
WeRide
It hasn’t reached the U.S. yet, but WeRide is still worth talking about. This China-based technology company is working with Uber to offer robotaxi services in various international markets. The only cities where WeRide currently operates are in China. However, it recently announced plans to expand to 15 cities over the next five years.
Testing has already commenced in most of these markets, including Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. France issued WeRide a testing permit in March 2025, and California did in 2021, meaning they have permits to test or operate in five countries, more than any other company.
WeRide also has a huge assortment of vehicles that are either ready or in development. It has plenty of options, from crossovers and the RoboVan to mini-buses and even street sweepers. The advanced driver assistance technology ranges from level 2 to level 4. Finally, WeRide claims to have had no active safety incidents in its six years of operational experience.
Between the California testing permits and officially being listed on the NASDAQ in October 2024, it seems inevitable that WeRide will eventually come to America. No official timetable has been set, leaving you and me to speculate.
Slowly Making Inroads
Despite the concerns I discussed previously, robotaxis are slowly coming to a city near you. Volkswagen and Avride are testing in Austin, and the former intends to launch a Los Angeles fleet in 2026. Pony.AI is challenging WeRide’s Chinese supremacy, though it doesn’t have plans to expand beyond those borders.
At the same time, some companies have fizzled out or never made it to the roads. GM subsidiary Cruise shut down in early 2024 after California revoked its operating license due to a combination of multiple incidents and withholding information about those incidents. Ford dissolved its Argo AI startup in 2022, and after initial enthusiasm, Mercedes-Benz and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance seem to have cooled on the prospects. It will be interesting to see how things evolve and which companies thrive.
