The former Uber CEO looks at Waymo and Tesla in the duel for autonomous robotaxis and currently sees a lead at one of the two companies.
• Former Uber CEO sees Waymo ahead of Tesla in robotaxi race
• Waymo is expanding into more and more US cities
• Tesla plans to expand its robotaxis to several US cities in the first half of 2026
Waymo ahead of Tesla: Who is leading the race of autonomous robotaxis?
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick sees Google subsidiary Waymo ahead of electric car pioneer Tesla in the race for autonomous robotaxis. In an episode of the podcast “All-In” on March 17, 2026, he explained that Waymo is technologically ahead and is already showing that autonomous driving services can work in everyday life.
Kalanick pointed to the development of ChatGPT as an example of the dynamics of modern AI: Since version 3.5, it has been impressively demonstrated how quickly technological advances can change everyday life. Against this background, he asked whether a similar leap in development is imminent for physical AI. Kalanick therefore sees a crucial need for such a breakthrough for Tesla: The company needs a “ChatGPT moment” to catch up with its camera-based approach to autonomous driving.
According to the company, the Waymo Driver is one of the leading systems in the field of autonomous driving technologies. The technology is based on an extensive database: millions of kilometers on public roads and billions of kilometers in simulations enable Waymo to analyze and train a variety of traffic situations. It goes on to say that the use of the system in the respective areas could help reduce traffic accidents. The system has already been tested in over 15 US states and is currently active in cities such as Dallas, Miami and Phoenix, with plans for further expansion. As the company announced on February 12, 2026, Waymo is launching fully autonomous operations with the 6th generation Waymo Driver. The new system is intended to reduce costs, maintain safety standards and enable expansion into additional cities and challenging environments such as areas with extreme winter conditions.
Tesla is pushing ahead with robotaxi plans
Tesla provided insights into the company’s robotaxi plans as part of its Q4 and 2025 annual update. Accordingly, robotaxis with a safety driver are on the road in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. In Texas, the company plans to gradually expand unmonitored operations. The robotaxi service is planned to be introduced in other cities such as Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando and Las Vegas in the first half of 2026.
Waymo vs. Tesla: Different approaches to autonomous driving
According to its own information, Waymo relies on a combination of lidar, cameras and radar to safely navigate the Waymo Driver through any environment: Lidar creates a three-dimensional image of the environment and provides a kind of bird’s eye view, cameras enable a 360-degree view and detect traffic lights, construction sites and other objects even in poor lighting conditions and radar measures distances and speeds and ensures that the system works reliably even in rain, fog or snow. In contrast, Tesla relies primarily on cameras for Autopilot. How Elon Musk Already announced in August 2025 on
Lidar and radar reduce safety due to sensor contention. If lidars/radars disagree with cameras, which one wins?
This sensor ambiguity causes increased, not decreased, risk. That’s why Waymos can’t drive on highways.
We turned off the radars in Teslas to increase safety.…
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2025
In the race for autonomous robotaxis, Waymo is relying on comprehensive sensors, Tesla on cameras – who will win the competition depends, among other things, on technological advances and their implementation and will have a decisive influence on the future of autonomous mobility.
Svenja Polonyi, editorial team at finanzen.net
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