Tesla, Waymo take different routes to robotaxi success

Waymo prioritises safety, mapping, and community relations before expansion, while Tesla says its Al system bypasses extensive road testing and mapping, write Chris Kirkham, Norihiko Shirouzu and Rachael Levy from Los Angeles and Austin, Texas

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A month after Tesla launched a trial robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June for select fans, CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company’s driverless taxis would likely be available to “half the population of the US" by the end of this year.

Alphabet’s Waymo — the US leader in autonomous ride-hailing — launched a similar test service in Phoenix more than eight years ago. Today, it operates in areas with about 3% of the US population.

Mr Musk's pronouncements about expanding Tesla’s robotaxis at a “hyper-exponential rate” stand in contrast to Waymo's deliberate approach ahead of entering new markets. Mr Musk sees a faster path to scaling the business because of Tesla’s reliance on cameras and artificial intelligence, compared with Waymo’s rules-based Al approach that uses more sensors and high-definition mapping.

The differing strategies have far-reaching implications for the early pecking order in the nascent autonomous-driving space, which some analysts and investors say could become a multitrillion-dollar market over the next 15 years.

Waymo’s expansion playbook involves comprehensively mapping new cities, and phasing in autonomous ride-hailing after testing the technology with drivers in the front seat and employees as passengers.

Tesla says its robotaxis use a different autonomous technology from Waymo’s, one that allows it to bypass much of that painstaking prep work. The cars — still in the testing phase — use AI that reacts to road conditions the way a human would. Tesla says that requires less-extensive road testing and mapping.

“Once we can make it basically work in a few cities in America, we can make it work anywhere in America,” Mr Musk told analysts on a conference call in April. He has called Waymo's approach “fragile,” saying its ability to expand is “limited.”

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