Waymo Reveals Robotaxi Expansion
The collective focus of everyone from the technology experts in Silicon Valley to the engine manufacturers in Detroit is centered on autonomous driving.
Although even the most optimistic forecasts suggest that the widespread adoption of self-driving cars is still five to 10 years in the future, a significant amount of intellectual capital and financial investment is being dedicated to the technology today.
While Tesla is launching its Robotaxi initiative and Zoox continues to innovate with its bi-directional vehicle design, Waymo has emerged as the frontrunner and industry leader in autonomous driving.
Founded in 2009, Waymo passed the first U.S. state self-driving test in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2012, spun out from Alphabet as a separate subsidiary in 2016, and as of July 2025, Waymo One is available 24/7 to customers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The current Waymo fleet features over 1,500 vehicles, with the company expecting to add 2,000 more by 2026. Having surpassed 100 million miles of autonomous driving in July 2025, Waymo plans to launch in Miami, Dallas, and Washington in 2026 and recently announced expansion plans for London.
In September, the company received permission to operate commercially at San Francisco International Airport and San Jose Mineta International Airport, having previously revealed it would begin testing Denver and Seattle for expansion.
Waymo will have safety drivers in the front seat while it tries out these new markets, similar to tests the company has been running in New York City. On November 3, the company shared plans to expand to several more cities.
Waymo is preparing to begin service on the streets of San Diego, Detroit, and Las Vegas in the coming months, which will enable Waymo One users in those metropolitan areas to summon an autonomous ride once the system becomes operational. The company states it will initiate operations in San Diego next year, in Detroit “soon,” and in Las Vegas next summer.
Waymo says it has “regularly tested in Detroit during winter weather to develop our capabilities in snow and ice. We’ve made great strides in our efforts to operate in heavier snow, including testing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and look forward to the 6th generation Waymo Driver navigating Detroit streets this winter.”
The company also says it is “returning” to Las Vegas, having passed the first U.S. state self-driving test in Nevada in 2012. Waymo points out that Nevada is the sixth-most dangerous state for driving, and Las Vegas accounts for 43% of the state’s car crashes.
Meanwhile, Waymo says it is working to “expand its deployment permits” in San Diego as it conducts community outreach and trains first responders in the city. This expansion comes as Waymo faces increased scrutiny, having repeated an error for which Tesla’s Robotaxi has been criticized in the past.
Earlier this year, Tesla Robotaxi took some heat after a video surfaced of an autonomous Tesla ignoring a school bus stop sign, speeding past the vehicle, and hitting a child dummy in a simulated test, prompting NHTSA probes into safety issues across the autonomous vehicle industry.
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