Waymo Now Operates On More Highways Than Tesla Robotaxi With New Expansion, But There's One Key Difference - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Group 1 - Tesla's Robotaxi ambitions are challenged by Waymo's expansion of self-driving cabs on highways in multiple cities [1] - Waymo announced its service expansion to operate on highways in Phoenix, Arizona, and the San Francisco Bay Area, including curbside service at San Jose Mineta International Airport [2] - Waymo will operate its service on freeways without an onboard safety driver, inviting users to sign up for freeway trips [2] Group 2 - Tesla's CEO Elon Musk stated that Robotaxis in Austin, Texas, will go driverless by the end of the year, currently operating with an onboard safety operator [3] - Musk revised Tesla's expansion target to 8-10 major cities across the U.S., down from an earlier goal of serving over 50% of the U.S. population with Robotaxis [4] - Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana emphasized the importance of transparency for road safety, criticizing other companies for not doing enough [5] Group 3 - Baidu's Robotaxi service Apollo Go reached 250,000 autonomous rides per week and has completed over 140 million driverless miles [6]