379 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

[splashflash]

ScreenShot Tool -20251217175635.png

 

The math comes up with $104 / trip versus $20/trip shown on AI - Google.  I think $20 is more realistic.  

There are a lot of failing transit systems in the US and Waymo robotaxis could pick up the slack or replace local bus lines, especially suburban ones, perhaps with a subsidy from the some government.  Transit in North America is the epitome of the planned economy.  It is resilient against market signals until the debt burden results in a tax revolt.

[splashflash]

The Waymo Ojai Will Soon Offer Autonomous Rides Around the U.S.

 

The Waymo Ojai Will Soon Offer Autonomous Rides Around the U.S.

Waymo is gearing up to start adding its new self-driving van, built by Chinese automaker Zeekr, to its fleet of robotaxis in the United States.

 

 

• Waymo is expanding its operations to more U.S. cities, which will see a new electric van join the Jaguar I-Paces currently in Waymo's fleet, as reported by InsideEVs.
• Called the Waymo Ojai, the van is built in China by Zeekr and features a suite of 13 cameras, six radar sensors, and four lidar sensors.
• Certification documents show a single rear-mounted electric motor producing 268 horsepower and hooked up to a 93-kWh battery.

Edited by splashflash, 11 January 2026 - 10:22 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Is there a demand for taxi vans?

[dasmo]

Yes. Family to the airport for instance.

[Victoria Watcher]

There is some demand, of course.

But 95% of taxi rides are 1 or 2 passengers.

[dasmo]

Because 95% people drive themselves.

[LJ]

Is there a demand for taxi vans?

The regular Waymo cars only realistically seat 3 people; if you have luggage, forget it. I don't think the vans would be much more expensive to run than the IPace's and provide much more comfort.

[Victoria Watcher]

Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving joint venture, Motional, will commercialize its fully driverless Level 4 robotaxi service in Las Vegas by the end of 2026, underpinned by a ‘Safety First’ approach and a transition to end-to-end (E2E) AI motion planning.

 

Autonomous driving is advancing from promise to reality. Motional – Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving joint venture – is already tangible proof of this process, and by the end of this year the company’s clear path to commercialization will be realized as it launches its fully driverless robotaxi service in Las Vegas, U.S.

Motional’s approach blends rigorous safety compliance and independent validation with AI-driven software evolution ensuring that technology maturity is matched by operational readiness. Artificial Intelligence really is driving Automotive Innovation – it’s AI² – and Motional is real-world evidence.

 

https://www.hyundai....tail/0000001110

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 January 2026 - 12:18 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

A report from South Korea has suggested that Samsung Electronics is set to begin supplying 5G automotive modems to Tesla. If accurate, this would mark a major expansion of the two companies’ partnership beyond AI chips and into vehicle connectivity. 

 

The move signals Tesla’s growing focus on supply-chain diversification and next-generation communications as it prepares to scale its autonomous driving and Robotaxi operations.

 

Samsung’s 5G modem

 

As per industry sources cited by TheElec, Samsung’s System LSI division has completed development of a dedicated automotive-grade 5G modem for Tesla. The 5G modem is reportedly in its testing phase. Initial supply is expected to begin in the first half of this year, with the first deployments planned for Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Texas. A wider rollout to consumer vehicles is expected to follow.

 

https://www.teslarat...xi-ramp-report/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 January 2026 - 12:19 AM.

[splashflash]

Punggol(Singapore) to get its first self-driving shuttles, public rides start in just 3 months

https://vulcanpost.c...omous-shuttles/

The first self-driving shuttle route in Punggol is set to open to the public in two to three months, announced Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling in a Facebook post on Jan 7. The opening comes earlier than the previously expected second quarter of 2026.

A 10km route, it will connect residents of Matilda Court and Punggol Clover with the polyclinic at Oasis Terraces via Punggol Plaza. Each round trip is expected to take around 35 minutes.

Ride-hailing firm Grab will run the service in collaboration with Guangzhou-based autonomous vehicle company, WeRide, through WeRide’s Ai.R (Autonomously Intelligent Rides) shuttles.

 

 

Sun said that Punggol was chosen as the pilot area due to its compact layout and diverse population. The first autonomous vehicle test took place there in mid-Oct 2025.

LTA had previously granted approval to Grab and WeRide to test 11 shuttles on two routes.

Grab will operate two out of the three planned routes in Punggol, with the second also being 12km long, and will connect Punggol West and Punggol North.

In Sept 2025, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow stated that Singapore plans to deploy 100 to 150 self-driving vehicles by the end of 2026, as part of a broader effort to expand autonomous transport across the island over the next five years.

Siow previously said that autonomous vehicles could ease public transport’s manpower challenge. Singapore faces a bus driver shortage due to an ageing workforce and fewer young Singaporeans joining the industry.

However, for current drivers concerned about job security, Sun added that the Ministry of Transport will work closely with union leaders to address their concerns and explore job opportunities.

Edited by splashflash, 17 January 2026 - 09:32 AM.

[splashflash]

WeRide Now Has Over 1,000 Robotaxis

 

In a post on the social media platform X on Thursday, the company announced the 1,000 Robotaxi feat, sharing that it has "reached 1,023 Robotaxis globally!" WeRide also announced that it had achieved driverless operations in Beijing, Guangzhou & Abu Dhabi.

The company also shared that the milestone was an important step in its vision to achieve "tens of thousands of Robotaxis by 2030."

 

WeRide Offers WeChat Integration

The company also recently announced it would be offering integration with China's popular WeChat app, backed by Tencent Holding Ltd. (OTC:TCEHY). WeChat currently has over a billion users. The integration, WeRide Go, will allow WeChat users to book Robotaxi rides in Guangzhou and Beijing.

 

The Robotaxi company had announced earlier that it was partnering with Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch its Robotaxi rides in Dubai on the Uber app.

Edited by splashflash, 17 January 2026 - 09:28 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Zoox Robotaxi Ride: Better than Waymo or Tesla? (First Impressions)

 

There has been a lot of hype about self-driving taxis or robotaxis as Tesla calls them. When we visited, we got to try out the Zoox self-driving car. If you aren't familiar with Zoox they are a autonomous car service that is now owned by Amazon. They are operating a few in the SF Bay Area, but those are not open to the public. In Las Vegas, they have started on a limited basis within a defined area.

 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/7mz...kM47MirRRucbT1D

 

 

 

 

Amazon’s Zoox Taxi Is Clear To Operate Without A Steering Wheel Or Pedals

 

https://www.msn.com/...nents=1&wcseo=1

 

 

 

 

 

I tried Amazon's Zoox. It's unlike any robotaxi out there.

 

https://www.business...e-unique-2026-1

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2026 - 04:00 AM.

[spanky123]

The reality is that Tesla is way behind in self-driving technology due to their insistence that lidar and radar were unnecessary. 

[Victoria Watcher]

The reality is that Tesla is way behind in self-driving technology due to their insistence that lidar and radar were unnecessary. 

 

Lolz.

 

Tesla has hundreds of thousands of cars self-driving in every city in the USA and Canada and China and Mexico and Australia and NZ and South Korea every day.

 

Nobody else is close.  Tesla has 4M self-driving capable cars on the road.  Waymo has 2500.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2026 - 07:40 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

Tesla stock pops as Elon Musk posts video claiming no safety monitor in Austin robotaxi

Musk's post comes after Waymo launched robotaxi services in Miami, adding to the five US markets it operates in currently.

 

https://finance.yaho...-191059641.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 January 2026 - 02:29 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Waymo Robotaxi Hits Child Near School, Triggering Federal Probe

 

https://hothardware....g-federal-probe

 

 

The incident occurred last Friday during the drop-off hour at Grant Elementary School in Santa Monica, California. According to federal reports and eyewitness accounts, the child suddenly darted into the street from behind a double-parked SUV. The Waymo vehicle, operating with no human safety driver behind the wheel, struck the child within two blocks of the school. While the student thankfully sustained only minor injuries and was able to walk to the sidewalk before being treated, the event triggered an immediate investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
 

Waymo released a detailed blog post with technical data just days after the crash. In the statement, the company said that the taxi's automated driving system detected the child as soon as they emerged from behind the visual obstruction of the parked SUV. It goes on to say that the vehicle "braked hard," rapidly decelerating from 17 mph to less than 6 mph before the moment of impact. To bolster its case, Waymo pointed to its own peer-reviewed safety models, claiming that a fully attentive human driver in the exact same scenario would have likely struck the child at 14 mph, thus potentially causing more injury.

[Victoria Watcher]

Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving unit, is aiming to raise about $16 billion in a financing round that would value the unit at nearly $110 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

The parent company would provide about $13 billion to the robotaxi firm, while the rest would come from others, including new investors Sequoia Capital, DST Global and Dragoneer Investment Group, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

 

 

https://www.bloomber...d-checkout=true

 

 

For reference:

 

With a market capitalization of roughly $1.56 trillion (Tesla) far exceeding General Motors' $78 billion and Ford Motor's $56 billionanalysts across the spectrum increasingly suggest that Tesla's automotive business alone could not justify the current valuation.

 

https://www.tradingv...ces-auto-peers/

 

 

 

Tesla:  $1.56T ($1,560B)

Waymo:  $110B

Ford:  $56B

GM:  $78B

 

NVIDIA:  $4.6T

Amazon:  $2.5T

Walmart:  $950B

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 February 2026 - 04:01 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Robot:

 

 

 

A November 2025 update citing 2,500 (Waymo) robotaxis deployed in cities like San Francisco (roughly 800–1,000), Los Angeles (around 700), Phoenix (500), Austin (200), and Atlanta (about 100).

 

Waymo has a new U.S. manufacturing facility (with partner Magna) producing additional fully autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles—planning to add over 2,000 more through 2026, plus integrating newer Zeekr RT (Ojai) models with sixth-generation tech. Analysts projected the fleet could hit around 3,500 by the end of 2026, though no confirmed update puts it there yet as of February 2026.

 

Waymo doesn't frequently publish exact real-time fleet numbers (they focus more on ride volume, like 450,000+ paid rides per week as of December 2025, aiming for 1 million weekly by end-2026).

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 February 2026 - 04:11 AM.