Waymo, Zoox and Tesla drive 2025 robotaxi growth

Robotaxis felt like science fiction only a decade in the past, however this 12 months, autonomous automobiles turned a commonplace choice for paying passengers throughout massive cities within the U.S. and elements of Asia.

Alphabet-owned Waymo stored increasing and dominates the robotaxi market within the U.S., although rivals Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox additionally launched the primary variations of their providers in 2025. In the meantime, Baidu-owned Apollo Go dominated in China.

Some mother and father are actually sending teenagers to varsities and actions in Waymos, and girls typically reward the privateness of those AVs versus rides with strangers who drive for ride-hailing and conventional taxi providers.

Waymo, particularly, has been so profitable in its business enlargement that Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged his rival’s achievements after beforehand criticizing the Google sister firm. At Tesla’s annual assembly on Nov. 6, Musk thanked Waymo for “paving the trail right here” in terms of figuring out the regulatory approvals that permit robotaxi providers to do enterprise throughout a lot of the U.S.

However driverless transportation has an extended option to go earlier than it turns into extra mainstream.

A survey by the American Car Affiliation in early 2025 confirmed that 66% of drivers within the U.S. felt fearful and 25% felt unsure about autonomous automobiles, or AVs, reflecting the identical shopper skepticism that AAA tracked with the survey in 2024.

There have been rampant complaints about noise, congestion and the typically erratic driving conduct of robotaxis, together with financial considerations in regards to the impression of AVs on journey and transportation employees. Nevertheless, identified dangerous collisions attributable to AVs have been comparatively few thus far, in accordance with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration, or NHTSA.

Robotaxi fares are at present greater than options right this moment, in accordance with Obi, which tracks ride-hail pricing information and in contrast Waymo to human-driven Uber and Lyft rides.

Each security information and prices per experience might change as AV fleets develop from a whole lot to 1000’s of automobiles.

With 2026 simply across the nook, here is how the robotaxi market stands right this moment.

Furthest alongside within the robotaxi race is Waymo, which now serves rides to the general public in 5 markets, up from three on the finish of 2024. Wanting forward, the corporate is concentrated on “scaling up fairly aggressively,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai stated.

“As a result of this includes the bodily world, the size up will take a little bit of time, however I believe within the ’27-’28 timeframe, I believe that Waymo might be significant in our financials,” Pichai instructed workers at an all-hands assembly in November, in accordance with audio obtained by CNBC. “I am fairly enthusiastic about what’s forward there.”

Waymo’s robotaxi service at present operates within the Austin, San Francisco Bay Space, Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles markets. Earlier this month, CNBC reported that Waymo crossed an estimated 450,000 weekly paid rides, and the corporate in December stated it had served 14 million journeys in 2025, placing it on tempo to finish the 12 months at greater than 20 million journeys whole since launching in 2020.

Apart from market enlargement, Waymo in 2025 additionally hit key milestones.

In July, the corporate introduced it might be increasing its age vary for eligible riders, providing accounts to teenagers ages 14 to 17, beginning in Phoenix. And in November, Waymo started taking prospects on freeway routes within the San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles markets, with plans to steadily lengthen freeway journeys to extra riders and places over time.

In current weeks, the corporate made a flurry of bulletins to additional broaden its territory in 2026. Waymo is now both working its robotaxis, planning to launch service or beginning to take a look at its automobiles in 26 markets, within the U.S. and overseas.

In 2026, Waymo plans to open service in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego and Washington. The corporate additionally introduced plans to launch its service in London in 2026, which can mark Waymo’s first abroad service area.

Moreover, the corporate has begun testing automobiles in New York and Tokyo, two of probably the most dense cities through which Waymo has began driving. The corporate hasn’t but specified service launch timelines for these markets. 

Waymo can also be eyeing enlargement northward. The corporate has been testing its know-how to make sure it could possibly “navigate harsher climate circumstances,” Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher stated. Markets like Denver and Detroit will let Alphabet see how its robotaxis fare in opposition to components like freezing temperatures, blinding snow and icy roads.

And in November, the corporate employed a brand new finance chief because it seems to be towards its subsequent part, which might embody in search of further outdoors funding.

Alphabet does not escape Waymo’s financials, however the firm’s “Different Bets” phase that features the robotaxi division reported income of $344 million for the third quarter, down from $388 million the 12 months prior. Losses grew from $1.12 billion final 12 months within the third quarter to $1.43 billion in the identical interval this 12 months.

However because it seems to be forward, Waymo faces challenges.

Its rivals are making progress, and the corporate is starting to take care of pushback from communities as some say the robotaxis are starting to drive extra aggressively.

In San Francisco, a Waymo hit and killed a locally-known bodega cat in October, and one other car hit a small, unleashed canine in November. In Los Angeles, a Waymo drove via an lively police standoff earlier this month.

Waymo additionally issued a software program recall for its automobiles after Texas officers stated the robotaxis illegally handed faculty buses no less than 19 instances for the reason that begin of the varsity 12 months, in accordance with a Reuters report this month.

The corporate issued the recall as a part of its efforts to carry itself to the best security requirements, Waymo’s security chief Mauricio Peña stated in an announcement.

“We are going to proceed analyzing our automobiles’ efficiency and making needed fixes as a part of our dedication to steady enchancment,” he stated.

Moreover, Waymo stated that security guides each improvement choice it makes, and its automobiles are designed to be safely assertive.

Zoox revved up its robotaxi ambitions this 12 months by opening up rides to the general public in two markets. 

Based in 2014 and bought by Amazon for $1.3 billion in 2020, Zoox has set itself aside with its bespoke, toaster-shaped automobiles that don’t have any steering wheel, mirrors or pedals and are geared up with “carriage-style,” inward-facing seats.

The corporate notched a milestone in September when it started providing public rides across the Las Vegas Strip earlier than launching rides to pick out customers in sure San Francisco neighborhoods in November. At the moment, Zoox is dropping riders off at particular locations in Las Vegas, however in San Francisco, it operates on a “point-to-point” foundation extra akin to Uber and Lyft.

For now, rides in Zoox’s electrical shuttles are free.

That is as a result of the corporate nonetheless wants federal regulators to provide it the inexperienced mild to function a paid service. The NHTSA granted Zoox an exemption in August that allows the corporate to show its purpose-built robotaxis on public roads, but it surely should get hold of a separate exemption for business deployment.

Zoox is planning to start charging for rides in San Francisco and Las Vegas in 2026, pending regulatory approvals, co-founder Jesse Levinson instructed Fortune earlier this month.

Extra markets are additionally anticipated in 2026. Zoox plans to steadily broaden its service space in San Francisco, and the corporate operates a fleet of retrofitted Toyota Highlander SUVs in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle and Washington. It is also making ready to start testing its boxy robotaxis in Austin and Miami, Zoox spokesperson Marisa Wiggam stated. 

However Zoox’s rollout hasn’t been with out hiccups.

The corporate issued a software program recall in March for a few of its take a look at fleet to resolve a phantom braking concern that prompted an NHTSA investigation. Zoox additionally issued two voluntary software program recollects in Could after its robotaxi collided with an e-scooter rider in San Francisco and one in all its automobiles was concerned in a crash with a passenger automobile in Las Vegas. 

The Amazon subsidiary has deployed a fleet of fifty robotaxis between San Francisco and Las Vegas, however Zoox is making ready to scale up. In June, the corporate opened a 220,000-square-foot manufacturing unit within the San Francisco Bay Space, the place it goals to supply 10,000 automobiles a 12 months as soon as it is totally operational. 

For greater than a decade, Musk has promised that Tesla will “resolve autonomy” and that the corporate’s electrical automobiles will quickly be upgradeable into driverless robotaxis.

That also hasn’t occurred, however Tesla stored the dream alive in 2025 by demonstrating a driverless supply, the place one in all its electrical automobiles navigated autonomously from the corporate’s Austin manufacturing unit to a close-by buyer’s doorstep in June.

At the moment, the corporate additionally launched a Tesla Robotaxi pilot service in Austin and, quickly after, a service within the San Francisco Bay Space it referred to as its “full self-driving” or FSD (Supervised) Rideshare.

All of Tesla’s automobiles for rent are hailed via its Robotaxi app. By September, Tesla made that app extensively out there. It additionally locked in a allow for AV testing in Nevada and obtained a allow to function a ride-hail service in Arizona, after beforehand securing permission to check self-driving vehicles there with a human security driver on board.

The corporate has stirred controversy, and regulatory scrutiny, by recruiting take a look at drivers in cities the place it doesn’t have permits to conduct any driverless operations — most notably New York, CNBC first reported in August.

In Tesla’s third-quarter earnings name in late October, Musk stated the corporate anticipated to be working a robotaxi service in Nevada, Florida and Arizona by the tip of the 12 months. That had not occurred as of mid-December.

Tesla’s robotaxi automobiles included human security displays on board as of mid-December. These supervisors are imagined to be able to take over steering or braking at any time.

However one California rider posted a video on Reddit in November displaying a Tesla ride-share monitor asleep on the wheel. The NHTSA and California Public Utilities Fee instructed CNBC they have been conscious of the incident. The CPUC stated it was in contact with Tesla about it.

It is unclear when Tesla will be capable to run its ride-hail providers with out human supervisors. However on Sunday, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vp of AI software program, shared a put up on X that stated one of many firm’s Mannequin Y robotaxis was noticed driving on public roads in Austin with none folks on board.

“Testing is underway with no occupants within the automobile,” Musk posted on Sunday.

Tesla didn’t reply to a request for remark.

In California, the corporate has but to acquire the permits wanted to run a business robotaxi service, in accordance with the CPUC and the state’s Division of Motor Automobiles.

Whereas all AV firms face uphill battles to show the protection of their programs, Tesla’s driverless tech is drawing nearer scrutiny. That is partially due to the handfuls of deadly collisions tied to its superior driver help programs, at present marketed as Autopilot and FSD (Supervised) within the U.S., in accordance with TeslaDeaths.com which tracks these incidents.

After launching its pilot service in Austin in late June, Tesla reported seven collisions involving its 2026 Mannequin Y automobiles via Oct. 15 to the NHTSA. These automobiles have been geared up with Tesla’s newer ADS, or “automated driving programs,” which aren’t but extensively out there, and people collisions weren’t extreme, in accordance with the NHTSA information.

Musk in October stated Tesla can be “paranoid about deployment as a result of clearly even one incident might be front-page headline information.” 

In November, Musk posted on X that Tesla would double its fleet of automobiles within the Austin space this month. That may put the fleet at 60 automobiles by 12 months’s finish, which is considerably lower than an earlier acknowledged aim of 500 robotaxis.

Nonetheless, Tesla bulls are betting that the automaker will evolve its vehicles and ride-hailing operations into totally driverless robotaxis within the 12 months forward, citing the corporate’s huge troves of knowledge gathered from prospects’ vehicles and updates to the FSD (Supervised) system prior to now 12 months.

And shopper curiosity in Tesla’s service is rising.

Launched in September, the Tesla Robotaxi-branded app has been put in 529,000 instances as of Dec. 12, with a mean of two,790 downloads per day over the past 30 days, in accordance with Apptopia. By comparability, Waymo’s app averaged 24,831 downloads per day over the identical timeframe, Apptopia stated.

Chinese language rivals in 2025 posed a higher problem to Waymo than its home opponents, as they continued to win market share in China and tiptoed into different nations.

Search large Baidu ramped up its Apollo Go robotaxi this 12 months, saying in October that it had surpassed 250,000 weekly driverless rides, which is on par with the place Waymo was in April.

Apollo Go operates robotaxis in a number of main Chinese language cities, together with the suburbs of the capital metropolis of Beijing and the whole metropolis of Wuhan.

It is also working to broaden to Abu Dhabi and Dubai within the United Arab Emirates, Guangzhou in China, Hong Kong and Switzerland. In August, the corporate introduced a partnership with Lyft to deliver its robotaxis to the U.Okay. and Germany in 2026.

In November, Apollo Go disclosed in a third-quarter replace that it had acquired 17 million robotaxi experience orders and that its vehicles had pushed 240 million kilometers (149 million miles), together with 140 million totally driverless miles via September.

In the meantime, Pony.ai and WeRide, each primarily based in Guangzhou and listed within the U.S., have additionally rolled out service. 

In 2025, Pony.ai received a allow to function all through Shenzhen, generally known as China’s Silicon Valley, and likewise operated a driverless robotaxi service within the suburbs of Beijing.

WeRide has centered extra on ramping up abroad. The corporate started providing a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi in November in partnership with Uber.

In October, WeRide and Uber additionally started providing robotaxi rides with human supervisors on board in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the businesses in Could stated that they deliberate to deliver robotaxi service to a number of extra cities, together with in Europe, over the following 5 years.

By itself, WeRide presents robotaxi service within the Beijing and Guangzhou markets, the corporate instructed CNBC in an announcement.

WeRide stated its AVs are additionally deployed in Leuven, Belgium, and that it has obtained driverless permits for markets in France, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S. The corporate stated it at present has a fleet of 1,600 autonomous automobiles, which additionally embody self-driving buses and autonomous avenue sweepers.

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed reporting