Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Waymo is fortunate to have a better reputation than the rest, but their incident rate is still not acceptable…
Business Insider reports that Waymo robotaxis are actually more expensive to use than Uber or Lyft. This does not bode well for the future of robotaxis as a profitable business venture, once the novelty wears off.
Bay Area Current provides more in depth reasons for why protestors have been burning Waymos
Waymo is apparently a bit tired of being the target of political ire. So they are hiding away for a few days.
It is remarkable that officials in San Francisco have to put out announcement that if Waymos are lit on fire during protests that they likely will just let them burn
A lawsuit has been filed by a cyclist in San Francisco who was seriously injured by two (yes, two!) Waymo robotaxis. This demonstrates why Waymo should not be allowed on the transit only portions of Market Street. They simply are not safe with respect to bicyclists.
Barrons speculates on why protestors are burning Waymo vehicles
CNBC reports on photos of the rather spectacular Waymo fires in Los Angeles during the ICD protests
WSJ reports on how Waymos have become a target of protests. Current count is 5 Waymos destroyed.
A Waymo user reports on Reddit on how they were going feel speed through an intersection in Austin when a front wheel, yup, just plain fell off.
Forbes reports that Waymo is losing money hand over fist, and if they are separated from Alphabet/Google due to the anti-trust ruling, then their viability is very questionable. And the Forbes article makes a compelling argument of why this could happen.
SF Chronicle reports on how autonomous Waymos are starting to pick up all the bad habits of human drivers.
LA Times reports on how awful Waymo is towards neighbors. Their charging lots create loud sounds 24-hours a day. Neighbors have taken to blocking the vehicles with cones or even their bodies.
CNBC reports of another recall of Waymo robotaxis. This time the problem was that they drove into chains, gates, and other roadway barriers, situations that would have been easily avoided by human drivers.
SF Standard reports that to the surprise of no one, Uber is now planning on also operating vehicles on the Transit Only portion of Market Street.
Forbes reports on how Waymo is creating more and more robotaxis. The odd thing is that Google has committed to Jaguar I-PACE vehicles and have 2,000 in storage, even though the car has been obsoleted. And their Chinese option is of course subject to 175% tariffs, making it very uneconomical.
