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 Chapters0:00 Waymo’s Growing Weekly Paid Rides3:23 Waymo’s Fleet Efficiency9:10 Waymo Power Users12:01 Waymo’s Consistent Rider Experience15:17 Tesla Launches Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China16:30 Tesla’s Pending California Robotaxi Network19:58 Tesla / Waymo Competition22:24 Tesla Will Not License FSD26:00 Autonomous Vehicle Policy28:55 Wall Street’s View on Autonomy32:04 Unforced Error of The Week36:30 Next Week The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/ LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. Sign up for research here. The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email:
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