TL;DRWaymo, Tesla, and Zoox all expanding simultaneously. Waymo recalled 3,900 cars, suspended freeways over construction zones. NHTSA documented “clear pattern” of AV first-responder interference. Expert: “the more they scale, the more edge cases they’ll find.”
Waymo, Tesla, and Zoox are all expanding their robotaxi operations at the same time. Waymo opened its Dallas service to the public this week after 150,000 people tried the service since February. Zoox began charging for rides in Las Vegas, its first commercial service. Tesla added new service areas in Florida and Texas and started offering a limited number of unsupervised rides. In London, Uber and Wayve received regulatory approval for supervised autonomous rides, and Waymo plans to launch a commercial service there by year-end.
The expansion is running ahead of the fixes. Waymo recalled 3,900 robotaxis in June after some drove into closed freeway construction zones, then suspended freeway rides entirely while it updated its software. It gradually restored the service last week. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison wrote to AV developers on July 8 that the federal agency has documented a “clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders.” Videos posted online show Waymo vehicles obstructing emergency scenes and immobilised in heavy San Francisco traffic on the Fourth of July.
