The Road to Autonomy Episode 309 | Autonomy Markets: Waymo’s Big NYC Announcement, Rider Survey Hints at Strategy, Can Texas Block Tesla? Is Meta Entering Autonomy?
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s return to the Big Apple, a revealing new Waymo rider survey, political grandstanding in Texas aimed at delaying Tesla’s robotaxi launch, and the emergence of potential new players in autonomous driving sector, Meta and OpenAI.
Waymo announced plans to resume testing in New York City this summer, the first time operating in the city since 2021. While the move signals growing confidence in their technology, regulatory hurdles remain, as current New York state law prohibits fully driverless operations until at least 2026 when a new law could come into effect.
While Waymo is actively focusing on scaling operations and expanding into New York, a recent rider survey offers rare insight into the company’s future ambitions. Questions about luxury positioning, loyalty rewards, ride reservations, and premium services suggesting that Waymo is exploring a strategy that moves beyond their tenuous limited partnership Uber, and towards a fully integrated premium mobility platform.
Meanwhile, a group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas sent a letter to Tesla urging the company to delay its planned driver-out robotaxi launch until new State autonomous vehicles laws take effect in September. Based on social media reports, Tesla is not waiting and they will be launching Robotaxi in the coming days.
Then there is the growing ambitions of both Meta and OpenAI. Will they be the next companies to potentially enter the autonomous driving sector?
Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo Eyes NYC Expansion
3:05 Waymo Loves New York as They Leave Uber Behind
4:15 Waymo’s Regulatory Path Forward in New York
7:47 Waymo’s LA & Bay Area Expansions
9:06 Waymo Fleet Size
10:54 What is Behind Waymo’s Lack of Highway Service?
13:03 Is Waymo Getting Closer to Unlocking SFO?
14:23 Waymo Rider Survey
34:35 Texas State Representatives Tesla Letter
38:53 Zoox
40:13 Kodiak/Roush Partnership
44:11 Does Meta and OpenAI Have Autonomous Driving Ambitions?
48:51 Applied Intuition
50:39 Next Week
Recorded on Thursday, June 19, 2025
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