Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service With New Minivan Fleet Taking Paying Passengers
Alphabet's autonomous vehicle subsidiary opened public rides in the Ojai, California service area using Jaguar I-PACE vehicles.
Waymo has expanded its commercial robotaxi operation with a new fleet of minivan-style vehicles now carrying paying passengers in the Ojai service area of California.
What Happened
According to InsideEVs, Waymo opened public rides to users in the Ojai region using its autonomous Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicle fleet. The expansion marks another step in the company's commercial robotaxi rollout as it continues scaling its driverless ride-hailing service beyond initial launch markets.
Why It Matters
For Tesla investors and FSD watchers, Waymo's commercial progress represents a benchmark in the autonomous vehicle space. While Tesla pursues a vision-based approach with Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Waymo uses lidar-based sensing to operate commercially without human drivers. The competitive landscape in robotaxi services is taking shape as multiple players advance toward scaled deployment.
The Bottom Line
Waymo's expansion of paying passenger service using its electric minivan fleet demonstrates continued momentum in the commercial autonomous vehicle sector, providing a real-world reference point for how Tesla's own robotaxi ambitions might ultimately compete.
