News

The news media has expended considerable effort researching and publishing information about the robotaxi business. This channel highlights some of the important articles.

Streetsblog NYC – Waymo Is Not In The ‘Vision Zero’ Toolbox: Data

Streetsblog makes the critical point that when iti comes to safety, Waymo has been trying to get everyone to focus on the wrong issue: safety per passenger mile driven. The real question is whether robotaxis have improved safety in general. And it turns out that with a huge number of Waymos in San Francisco safety has actually become a bit worse. Meanswhile in Helsinki and Oslo, where there are exactly zero robotaxis, they didn't have a single fatality last year. If people our actually interested in safety, as Waymo claims, then they should be promoting incredibly safe public transportation, not robotaxis.

Read MoreStreetsblog NYC – Waymo Is Not In The ‘Vision Zero’ Toolbox: Data

Business Insider – Tesla Robotaxis rolled out in Dallas. This guy had a wild highway ride.

Business Insider reports that a Tesla FSD fanboy tried to take a robotaxi but of course it took a few hours since Tesla only has a handful of them actually running in Dallas, and only for publicity. And then the Tesla took to freeway for a wild ride ooand tried to pull over while cars zoomed by.

Read MoreBusiness Insider – Tesla Robotaxis rolled out in Dallas. This guy had a wild highway ride.

NYC StreetsBlog – ‘A Solution, But To What Problem?’ Experts Say AVs Are The Elephant In The Room, But There’s Still Time To Figure Out Their Role

NYC StreetsBlog talks with the experts behind the recent The Future of Transportation seminar. Key point is whether we are currently even asking the right questions about robotaxi safety. After all, Oslo and Helsinki both had zero fatalities last year and they managed to do so without a single robotaxi.

Read MoreNYC StreetsBlog – ‘A Solution, But To What Problem?’ Experts Say AVs Are The Elephant In The Room, But There’s Still Time To Figure Out Their Role

SF Chronicle Opinion – San Francisco is obsessed with the safest drivers — and ignoring the ones killing people

SF Chronicle publishes a marketing piece for Waymo as an op-ed. William Riggs, the author, is paid by Waymo and other robotaxi companies to do their bidding. Not stating that William Riggs is funded by robotaxi companies is journalistic malpractice by the newspaper.

Read MoreSF Chronicle Opinion – San Francisco is obsessed with the safest drivers — and ignoring the ones killing people

SF Chronicle – A California bill seeks to make robotaxis safer. AV companies say it could ‘ban’ the industry

SF Chronicle reports on potential California legislation Bill 1246 that would require a local technician for every three autonomous vehicles. Industry lobbyists for Waymo of course bitched an moaned and went all apocalyptic.

Read MoreSF Chronicle – A California bill seeks to make robotaxis safer. AV companies say it could ‘ban’ the industry

East Bay Times – California bill would require robotaxi companies to hire humans for emergencies

East Bay Times reports on new potential California legislation that would require to have adequate local technicians, one for every three self-driving cars. This is due to the disaster traffic jams that Waymo robotaxis caused during the San Francisco power outage in December '25.

Read MoreEast Bay Times – California bill would require robotaxi companies to hire humans for emergencies

StreetsBlog NYC – With Waymo Testing Halted, We Have A Rare Chance To Get Ahead of the ‘Driverless Revolution’

Sam Schwartz and Kelly McGuinness report in StreetsBlog NYC on how that now Waymo robotaxis are paused that this is an opportune time to look into whether robotaxis are useful in the first place. A key point is that if safety is the goal then clearly public transit should be promoted instead.

Read MoreStreetsBlog NYC – With Waymo Testing Halted, We Have A Rare Chance To Get Ahead of the ‘Driverless Revolution’

The City – Waymo’s Robot Car Testing Ends in NYC After Permits Expire

The City reports that Waymo's permits to test some of their robotaxis in New York City has ended. And their permission to run vehicles in the state of New York has reached a dead end. NYC is simply not read for robotaxis, given they have far more cars there than is useful. It appears Waymo never expected to hit such a speed bump in their deployment.

Read MoreThe City – Waymo’s Robot Car Testing Ends in NYC After Permits Expire

Wired – Tesla Admits Its Robotaxis Are Sometimes Driven by Remote Humans

Wired reports that Tesla acknowledges that their "robotaxis" are sometimes actually driven by humans. This is of course not a surprise given the Tesla Optimus robots are known to actually be just teleoperated puppets. Certainly is peculiar that the company is valued at $1.4T based on robotaxis and humanoid robots.

Read MoreWired – Tesla Admits Its Robotaxis Are Sometimes Driven by Remote Humans

Benzinga – Elon Musk’s Tesla Ride-Hailing Service Isn’t A Robotaxi, California Regulator Says

Benzinga reports that the California Public Utilities Commission has declared that Tesla does not have true autonomous capability and therefore does not have an actual robotaxi system. Whoops. You can always count on Elon to not speak the truth.

Read MoreBenzinga – Elon Musk’s Tesla Ride-Hailing Service Isn’t A Robotaxi, California Regulator Says