Waymo grew its lead in the robotaxi market in 2025, and is now operating, planning to launch a service or testing its vehicles in 26 markets in the U.S. and abroad. Amazon's Zoox began offering free driverless rides to the public around the Las Vegas Strip and certain San Francisco neighborhoods.

There are many clues that Tesla is using lots of remote monitoring and supervision, and possibly even remote driving, for their early tests. Optimus still does that.

Analyst Andrew Percoco and his team expect the company to increase its fleet size to 1,000 vehicles on the road in 2026, up from between 50 and 150 on the road today. By the end of 2035, Morgan Stanley expects Tesla ( TSLA) to have one million robotaxis on the road across multiple cities.

When KitKat, a beloved bodega cat, was killed by a Waymo in San Francisco in late October of this year, the incident quickly went viral. It ignited grief and outrage. It also renewed scrutiny of autonomous vehicles.

Self-driving vehicles could significantly reduce revenue at Des Moines International Airport, CEO Brian Mulcahy told the Des Moines City Council last week. Why it matters: The airport's operational budget relies heavily on parking revenue,

Competition in robotaxi technology is intensifying, with Mercedes, Verne, Waymo, and others advancing.

WeRide and Uber, in partnership with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, have launched public Robotaxi passenger rides in Dubai via the Uber app, initially serving the busy Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah districts with on-board vehicle specialists to oversee autonomous operations.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says robotaxis are a "trillion-dollar-plus" business and he expects Asia to drive the wave of autonomous expansion.