Robotaxis in 2025: Waymo plots global expansion as Zoox, Tesla roll to the starting line

Robotaxis felt similar subject fabrication conscionable a decennary ago, but this year, autonomous vehicles became a commonplace enactment for paying passengers crossed large cities successful the U.S. and parts of Asia.

Alphabet-owned Waymo kept expanding and dominates the robotaxi marketplace successful the U.S., though rivals Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox besides launched the archetypal versions of their services successful 2025. Meanwhile, Baidu-owned Apollo Go dominated successful China.

Some parents are present sending teens to schools and activities successful Waymos, and women often praise the privateness of these AVs versus rides with strangers who thrust for ride-hailing and accepted taxi services.

Waymo, successful particular, has been truthful palmy successful its commercialized enlargement that Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged his rival's achievements aft antecedently criticizing the Google sister company. At Tesla's yearly gathering connected Nov. 6, Musk thanked Waymo for "paving the way here" erstwhile it comes to moving retired the regulatory approvals that let robotaxi services to bash concern crossed overmuch of the U.S.

But driverless proscription has a agelong mode to spell earlier it becomes much mainstream.

A survey by the American Automobile Association successful aboriginal 2025 showed that 66% of drivers successful the U.S. felt fearful and 25% felt uncertain astir autonomous vehicles, reflecting the aforesaid user skepticism that AAA tracked with the survey successful 2024.

There person been rampant complaints astir noise, congestion and the sometimes erratic driving behaviour of robotaxis, on with economical concerns astir the interaction of AVs connected question and proscription workers. However, known harmful collisions caused by AVs person been comparatively fewer truthful far, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, oregon NHTSA.

Robotaxi fares are presently higher than alternatives today, according to Obi, which tracks ride-hail pricing information and compared Waymo to human-driven Uber and Lyft rides.

Both information records and costs per thrust could alteration arsenic AV fleets turn from hundreds to thousands of vehicles.

With 2026 conscionable astir the corner, here's however the robotaxi marketplace stands today.

Furthest on successful the robotaxi contention is Waymo, which present serves rides to the nationalist successful 5 markets, up from 3 astatine the end of 2024. Looking ahead, the institution is focused connected "scaling up beauteous aggressively," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said.

"Because this involves the carnal world, the standard up volition instrumentality a spot of time, but I deliberation successful the '27-'28 clip frame, I deliberation that Waymo volition beryllium meaningful successful our financials," Pichai told employees astatine an all-hands gathering successful November, according to audio obtained by CNBC. "I'm beauteous excited astir what's up there."

Waymo's robotaxi work presently operates successful the Austin, San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles markets. Earlier this month, CNBC reported that Waymo crossed an estimated 450,000 play paid rides, and the institution successful December said it had served 14 cardinal trips successful 2025, putting it connected gait to extremity the twelvemonth astatine much than 20 cardinal trips full since launching successful 2020.

Besides marketplace expansion, Waymo successful 2025 besides deed cardinal milestones.

In July, the institution announced it would beryllium expanding its property scope for eligible riders, offering accounts to teens ages 14 to 17, starting successful Phoenix. And successful November, Waymo began taking customers connected freeway routes successful the San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles markets, with plans to gradually widen freeway trips to much riders and locations implicit time.

In caller weeks, the institution made a flurry of announcements to further expand its territory successful 2026. Waymo is present either operating its robotaxis, readying to motorboat work oregon starting to trial its vehicles successful 26 markets, successful the U.S. and abroad.

In 2026, Waymo plans to unfastened work successful Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego and Washington, D.C. The institution besides announced plans to motorboat its work successful London successful 2026, which volition people Waymo's archetypal overseas work region.

Additionally, the institution has begun investigating vehicles in New York and Tokyo, 2 of the astir dense cities successful which Waymo has started driving. The institution hasn't yet specified work motorboat timelines for those markets. 

Waymo is besides eyeing enlargement northward. The institution has been investigating its exertion to guarantee it tin "navigate harsher upwind conditions," Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said. Markets similar Denver and Detroit volition fto Alphabet spot however its robotaxis fare against elements similar freezing temperatures, blinding snowfall and icy roads.

And successful November, the institution hired a caller concern main arsenic it looks toward its adjacent phase, which could see seeking further extracurricular investment.

Alphabet doesn't interruption retired Waymo's financials, but the company's "Other Bets" conception that includes the robotaxi part reported gross of $344 cardinal for the 3rd quarter, down from $388 cardinal the twelvemonth prior. Losses grew from $1.12 cardinal past twelvemonth successful the 3rd 4th to $1.43 cardinal successful the aforesaid play this year.

But arsenic it looks ahead, Waymo faces challenges.

Its rivals are making progress, and the institution is opening to contend with pushback from communities arsenic immoderate accidental the robotaxis are opening to drive much aggressively.

In San Francisco, a Waymo deed and killed a locally-known bodega cat successful October, and different conveyance deed a small, unleashed dog successful November. In Los Angeles, a Waymo drove through an progressive constabulary standoff earlier this month.

Waymo besides issued a bundle callback for its vehicles aft Texas officials said the robotaxis illegally passed schoolhouse buses astatine slightest 19 times since the commencement of the schoolhouse year, according to a Reuters report this month.

The institution issued the callback arsenic portion of its efforts to clasp itself to the highest information standards, Waymo's information main Mauricio Peña said successful a statement.

"We volition proceed analyzing our vehicles' show and making indispensable fixes arsenic portion of our committedness to continuous improvement," helium said.

Additionally, Waymo said that information guides each improvement determination it makes, and its vehicles are designed to beryllium safely assertive.

Zoox revved up its robotaxi ambitions this twelvemonth by opening up rides to the nationalist successful 2 markets. 

Founded successful 2014 and acquired by Amazon for $1.3 billion successful 2020, Zoox has acceptable itself isolated with its bespoke, toaster-shaped vehicles that person nary steering wheel, mirrors oregon pedals and are equipped with "carriage-style," inward-facing seats.

The institution notched a milestone successful September erstwhile it began offering nationalist rides astir the Las Vegas Strip earlier launching rides to prime users successful definite San Francisco neighborhoods successful November. Currently, Zoox is dropping riders disconnected astatine circumstantial destinations successful Las Vegas, but successful San Francisco, it operates connected a "point-to-point" ground much akin to Uber and Lyft.

For now, rides successful Zoox's electrical shuttles are free.

That's due to the fact that the institution inactive needs national regulators to springiness it the greenish airy to run a paid service. The NHTSA granted Zoox an exemption successful August that enables the institution to show its purpose-built robotaxis connected nationalist roads, but it indispensable get a abstracted exemption for commercialized deployment.

Zoox is readying to statesman charging for rides successful San Francisco and Las Vegas successful 2026, pending regulatory approvals, co-founder Jesse Levinson told Fortune earlier this month.

More markets are besides expected successful 2026. Zoox plans to gradually grow its work country successful San Francisco, and the institution operates a fleet of retrofitted Toyota Highlander SUVs successful Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle and Washington, D.C. It's besides preparing to statesman investigating its boxy robotaxis successful Austin and Miami, Zoox spokesperson Marisa Wiggam said. 

But Zoox's rollout hasn't been without hiccups.

The institution issued a bundle recall successful March for immoderate of its trial fleet to resoluteness a phantom braking contented that prompted a NHTSA investigation. Zoox besides issued 2 voluntary bundle recalls successful May aft its robotaxi collided with an e-scooter rider successful San Francisco and 1 of its vehicles was progressive successful a clang with a rider car successful Las Vegas. 

The Amazon subsidiary has deployed a fleet of 50 robotaxis betwixt San Francisco and Las Vegas, but Zoox is preparing to standard up. In June, the institution opened a 220,000-square-foot factory successful the San Francisco Bay Area, wherever it aims to nutrient 10,000 vehicles a twelvemonth erstwhile it's afloat operational. 

For much than a decade, Musk has promised that Tesla volition "solve autonomy," and that the company's electrical vehicles volition soon beryllium upgradeable into driverless robotaxis.

That inactive hasn't happened, but Tesla kept the imagination live successful 2025 by demonstrating a driverless delivery, wherever 1 of its electrical vehicles navigated autonomously from the company's Austin mill to a adjacent customer's doorstep successful June.

At that time, the institution besides launched a Tesla Robotaxi aviator work successful Austin and, soon after, a work successful the San Francisco Bay Area called its "full self-driving" oregon FSD (Supervised) Rideshare.

All of Tesla's vehicles for prosecute are hailed done its Robotaxi app. By September, Tesla made that app wide available. It besides locked successful a licence for AV investigating successful Nevada, and obtained a licence to run a ride-hail work successful Arizona, aft antecedently securing support to trial self-driving cars determination with a quality information operator connected board.

The institution has stirred controversy, and regulatory scrutiny, by recruiting trial drivers successful cities wherever it does not person permits to behaviour immoderate driverless operations — astir notably New York, CNBC archetypal reported successful August.

In Tesla's third-quarter net telephone successful precocious October, Musk said the institution expected to beryllium operating a robotaxi work successful Nevada, Florida and Arizona by the extremity of the year. That had not happened arsenic of mid-December.

Tesla's Robotaxi vehicles included quality information monitors connected committee arsenic of mid-December. Those supervisors are expected to beryllium acceptable to instrumentality implicit steering oregon braking astatine immoderate time.

But 1 California rider posted a video on Reddit successful November showing a Tesla rideshare show dormant astatine the wheel. The NHTSA and California Public Utilities Commission told CNBC they were alert of the incident. CPUC said it was successful interaction with Tesla astir it.

It's unclear erstwhile Tesla volition beryllium capable to tally its ride-hail services without quality supervisors. But connected Sunday, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's vice president of AI software, shared a post on X that said 1 of the company's Model Y robotaxis was spotted driving connected nationalist roads successful Austin without immoderate radical connected board.

"Testing is underway with nary occupants successful the car," Musk posted connected Sunday.

Tesla did not respond to a petition for comment.

In California, the institution has yet to get the permits needed to tally a commercialized robotaxi service, according to the CPUC and the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

While each AV companies look uphill battles to beryllium the information of their systems, Tesla's driverless tech is drafting person scrutiny. That's successful portion due to the fact that of the dozens of fatal collisions tied to its precocious operator assistance systems, presently marketed arsenic Autopilot and FSD (Supervised) successful the U.S., according to TeslaDeaths.com which tracks those incidents.

After launching its aviator work successful Austin successful precocious June, Tesla reported 7 collisions involving its 2026 Model Y vehicles done Oct. 15 to NHTSA. Those vehicles were equipped with Tesla's newer ADS, oregon "automated driving systems," which are not yet wide available, and those collisions weren't severe, according to the NHTSA data.

Musk successful October said Tesla would beryllium "paranoid astir deployment due to the fact that evidently adjacent 1 incidental volition beryllium front-page header news." 

In November, Musk posted connected X that Tesla would treble its fleet of vehicles successful the Austin country this month. That would enactment the fleet astatine 60 vehicles by year's end, which is importantly little than an earlier stated extremity of 500 robotaxis.

Still, Tesla bulls are betting that the automaker volition germinate its cars and ride-hailing operations into afloat driverless robotaxis successful the twelvemonth ahead, citing the company's immense troves of information gathered from customers' cars and updates to the FSD (Supervised) strategy successful the past year.

And user involvement successful Tesla's work is growing.

Launched successful September, the Tesla Robotaxi-branded app has been installed 529,000 times arsenic of Dec. 12, with an mean of 2,790 downloads per time implicit the past 30 days, according to Apptopia. By comparison, Waymo's app averaged 24,831 downloads per time implicit the aforesaid clip frame, Apptopia said.

Chinese rivals successful 2025 posed a greater situation to Waymo than its home competitors, arsenic they continued to triumph marketplace stock successful China and tiptoed into different countries.

Search elephantine Baidu ramped up its Apollo Go robotaxi this year, saying successful October that it had surpassed 250,000 play driverless rides, which is connected par with wherever Waymo was in April.

Apollo Go operates robotaxis in respective large Chinese cities, including the suburbs of the superior metropolis Beijing and the full metropolis of Wuhan.

It's besides moving to grow to Abu Dhabi and Dubai successful the United Arab Emirates, Guangzhou successful China, Hong Kong and Switzerland. In August, the institution announced a concern with Lyft to bring its robotaxis to the U.K. and Germany successful 2026.

In November, Apollo Go disclosed successful a third-quarter update that it had received 17 cardinal robotaxi thrust orders and that its cars had driven 240 cardinal kilometers (149 cardinal miles), including 140 cardinal afloat driverless miles done September.

Meanwhile, Pony.ai and WeRide, some based successful Guangzhou and listed successful the U.S., person besides rolled retired service. 

In 2025, Pony.ai got a licence to run passim Shenzhen, known arsenic China's Silicon Valley, and besides operated a driverless robotaxi work successful the suburbs of Beijing.

WeRide has focused much connected ramping up overseas. The institution began offering a robotaxi work successful Abu Dhabi successful November successful concern with Uber.

In October, WeRide and Uber besides began offering robotaxi rides with quality supervisors connected committee successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the companies in May said that they planned to bring robotaxi work to respective much cities, including successful Europe, implicit the adjacent 5 years.

On its own, WeRide offers robotaxi work successful the Beijing and Guangzhou markets, the institution told CNBC successful a statement.

WeRide said its AVs are besides deployed successful Leuven, Belgium, and that it has obtained driverless permits for markets successful France, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S. The institution said it presently has a fleet of 1,600 autonomous vehicles, which besides see self-driving buses and autonomous thoroughfare sweepers.

-- CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed reporting