Episode 287 | Autonomy Markets: Waymo Opens Door to Rivals, Uber Debate Heats Up, Tariffs Winners & Losers

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s unforced error with the Zeekr RT robotaxi, Uber’s future with autonomous vehicles and the winners and losers from the latest round of tariffs. 

Waymo’s Zeekr RT robotaxi has seen its price double due to a 100% tariff on Chinese-made vehicles, igniting a debate over whether Waymo made an unforced error with their Zeekr partnership. Could tariffs either accelerate a new OEM partnership for Waymo or see them abandon it all together?

Meanwhile, Uber’s autonomy ambitions are accelerating and gaining momentum globally. This week, Uber announced a partnership with WeRide and the Dubai Road and Transport Authority to deploy robotaxis in Dubai. Could Uber’s largest autonomy market end up being outside the U.S.? Grayson and Walter debate the issue, while exploring the implications that tariffs will have on the autonomy ecosystem.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Tariffs 

1:05 Impact of Tariffs on Waymo

6:26 Does Waymo Need to Slim Down?

9:10 Tesla FSD Unsupervised Launch

11:41 Tariffs and The Trucking Industry 

13:57 May Mobility 

14:27 LiDAR Market

18:25 Energy

22:46 Uber’s Global Ambitions 

25:15 Scaling Waymo

31:00 Uber App

37:23 Waymo Messaging 

40:17 Zoox

41:23 Lyft

46:37 Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles 

49:58 Next Week

Recorded on Thursday, April 3, 2025

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