WSJ Tech News Briefing

Volkswagen Will Bring Its Robotaxi Service to the U.S. with Help from Uber

6 snips
Jul 11, 2025
Guest
Stephen Wilmot
Stephen Wilmot, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, dives into Volkswagen's exciting plans to launch its robotaxi service in the U.S. next year, collaborating with Uber on self-driving minivans. He discusses the competition among tech giants in the automated taxi market and the challenges faced by publishers against AI content scrapers. Wilmot shares insights from his test drive in Hamburg, revealing innovative designs and the regulatory hurdles Volkswagen must navigate to expand in America.
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INSIGHT

Volkswagen's Robotaxi US Debut

  • Volkswagen is testing autonomous minivans in Hamburg and will launch a robotaxi service in the US with Uber's help next year.
  • They aim to remove safety drivers in the US earlier than in Europe due to lighter regulations and market acceptance.
INSIGHT

Publishers Fight AI Scrapers

  • Publishers face threats from bots scraping online content to train AI without permission.
  • Cloudflare offers a technology to block these bots and force AI companies to negotiate content use deals.
INSIGHT

Volkswagen and Uber Are Bringing Self-Driving Robotaxis to the US

Volkswagen is launching its self-driving electric minivan robotaxi service in the U.S. with help from Uber, starting testing in Los Angeles late this year and public trials next year.

The vehicle is based on Volkswagen's iconic ID Buzz minivan with autonomous sensors built into the roof, designed for both ride-hailing and ride-pooling services.

Europe has lagged behind in autonomous vehicle deployment due to stricter regulations and fewer tech giants, but VW aims to catch up by targeting the American market first where regulatory hurdles are lower.

The autonomous vehicles currently operate with safety drivers during tests in Germany and are expected to go fully driverless in the U.S. by late 2026 or early 2027.

VW's approach differs from American companies by focusing on ride-pooling as a public transport solution in Europe, while in the U.S. the emphasis is on competing as a taxi service via Uber.

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