Waymo Claims to have Doubled its Robotaxi Trips in Five Months, Reaching 10 Million
Waymo, the autonomous ride-hailing business owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), accomplished 10 million paid robotaxi trips, co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana revealed at the Google I/O developer conference on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. The significant achievement doubles the total number of trips in just five months and includes rides in Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Phoenix area.
Mawakana stated:
'These are all paid trips, and they represent people who are really integrating Waymo Driver into their everyday lives,'
A user's hands typing a search query into a Google Search box, emphasizing the company's search capabilities.
According to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s April earnings report, Waymo is currently providing more than 250,000 paid rides every week. This week, the company also got regulatory authority to extend its services to San Jose and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The "Other Bets" division of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which includes Waymo, reported $450 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, a 9% year-over-year drop, while operating losses grew to $1.23 billion from $1.02 billion. "We're proving out that it can be a profitable business," Mawakana added, even though Waymo is not yet profitable. The company is super focused on building a sustainable business.
Waymo prioritizes safety over rival Tesla's planned robotaxi launch. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, announced that the service will debut in Austin the following month with a fleet of ten vehicles. Tesla aims to quickly expand to San Francisco and Los Angeles if it is successful. Unlike Waymo, Tesla's system is reliant on cameras rather than lidar or radar.
'There's probably a lot of ways it can be done, but we're the only ones that have done it,' she said. 'We've been doing it 24 hours a day for almost five years. And so to us, it's really important to focus on safety, not focus on safety and then cost — not cost and then safety.'
While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this
READ NEXT: Nike Restructures the Technology Division, Laying Off Some Employees and Alphabet's Waymo has Secured Approval to Expand its Driverless Ride-Hailing Service to San Jose.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ford Announces Concerning Recall of Explorer, Nearly 500,000 Affected
Over the past month, Ford has announced recalls of more than 1.5 million vehicles, with the latest recall impacting nearly 500,000 sport utility vehicles. Earlier this month, Ford revealed a recall on its F-150 Lightning, which just surpassed Tesla's Cybertruck as the best-selling electric truck on the market, according to Electrek. "Certain vehicles may have an improperly torqued nut on the ball joint which secures the front upper control arm to the knuckle assembly. An improperly torqued nut on the ball joint can result in separation of the front upper control arm from the knuckle assembly," Ford said in a statement regarding its latest recall on nearly 30,000 trucks. That announcement came just a few weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed a recall from the auto manufacturer for more than one million vehicles ranging over 44 different makes and models after a software error emerged that can cause the rearview camera image to delay, freeze, or not display when the vehicle is in reverse. "Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Bronco, F-150, 2021-2024 Edge, 2023-2024 Escape, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, F-600, 2022-2024 Expedition, 2022-2025 Transit, 2021-2023 Mach-E, 2024 Ranger, Mustang, 2021-2023 Lincoln Nautilus, 2022-2024 Navigator, and 2023-2024 Corsair vehicles," the NHTSA announced. This time around the American icon is recalling one of its most popular offerings: the Explorer. Ford opened the recall on models from June 11, 2015 - April 19, 2017 after "a B-pillar trim applique that detaches while driving can create a road hazard for other road users, increasing the risk of a crash," the company revealed. The remedy for the recall is still in the works. Dealers are expected to be notified on May 27, 2025 while the mailing of interim owner notification letters is expected to begin June 9, 2025 and is expected to be completed by June 13, Announces Concerning Recall of Explorer, Nearly 500,000 Affected first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 5, 2025
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Trump says Elon Musk bromance may be over after attacks on tax bill
Trump says Elon Musk bromance may be over after attacks on tax bill 'Elon and I had a great relationship,' President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 5. 'I don't know if we will anymore.' Show Caption Hide Caption 'Kill the bill': Musk urges lawmakers to stop Trump's tax cut bill Elon Musk blasted President Trump's new tax bill as a 'disgusting abomination,' urging millions of followers to lobby lawmakers to 'kill the bill.' WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said his close relationship with Elon Musk might be over after the world's richest man and former top White House adviser spent the past few days slamming the president's signature tax and policy bill. "Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 5. "I don't know if we will anymore." The president's comments triggered a war of words with Musk, who said Trump wouldn't have won a second term if it weren't for the quarter of a million dollars in campaign cash he pumped in his 2024 campaign. "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk said in a post on X, the social media company he owns. "Such gratitude." Trump's remarks were his first since Musk called Trump's reconciliation bill "a disgusting abomination" and later urged his social media followers to lobby their representatives to "kill the bill." Musk has objected to the deficit implications with the legislation. "I'm very disappointed with Elon. I helped Elon a lot," Trump said during a lengthy response to a question from a reporter about Musk's criticism as the president sat next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a bilateral meeting. Trump accused Musk of opposing the legislation because it would end a $7,500 consumer tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles, a policy of former President Joe Biden that has benefited electric car companies like Musk's Tesla. "Elon knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here," Trump said. "He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out we're going to cut EV mandate." Musk fires back at Trump: 'Whatever' More: Trump overpowers Musk's attacks on mega tax bill with blizzard of orders Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, fired back at Trump shortly after the president's comments. "Whatever," Musk said in a post on his social media platform X. "Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill." Musk added: "In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!" He also disputed Trump's assertion that Musk was kept abreast of the bill's details. "False" Musk said. "This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!" Musk left the White House last week after leading the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency during the first four month's of Trump's second term. Although Musk first voiced criticism of Trump's bill before his exit, Trump had seemed to smooth things over when he welcomed him to the Oval Office for a friendly send-off news conference on May 30. "I'll be honest," Trump said six days later on June 5. "I think he misses the place. I think he got out there and all of a sudden he wasn't in this beautiful Oval Office." Musk, prior to his White House departure, asked for his special government employee status to be extended beyond 130 days to allow him to continue to lead DOGE, but the White House declined, a source told USA TODAY. Last weekend, Musk expressed disappointment after Trump withdrew his nominee for administrator of NASA, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut with close ties to Musk. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. (This story has been updated with more information.)
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Tesla Stock Drops 12% As Trump-Musk Relationship Appears To Unravel
Shares of Tesla dropped by 12% on Thursday as the relationship between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's appeared to unravel, with Musk launching attacks at the president on X and Trump suggesting to reporters at the White House criticism of his signature bill from the world's wealthiest person amounts to 'Trump derangement syndrome.' Tesla's stock fell 12.3% to around $291.18 as of just before 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, with losses accelerating following Trump's comment. Through more than a dozen posts on X since Tuesday, Musk has referred to Trump's policy bill as 'massive, outrageous' and 'pork-filled,' while adding, 'shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.' Musk's latest criticism of the bill Thursday targeted Trump for the first time, as Musk wrote 'wise words' in response to a tweet from Trump in 2013, in which Trump said, 'I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling—I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!' Trump responded to Musk's recent attacks, suggesting Thursday he and Musk 'had a great relationship,' but 'I don't know if we will anymore.' $17.2 billion. That's how much was cut from Musk's fortune amid Tesla's stock slide, bringing his net worth below $400 billion to $398 billion, according to Forbes' estimates. Tesla's stock jumped 22% in May, which came as Musk said he would leave the White House and committed to serving as Tesla's chief executive for the next five years. Trump has called on Republican senators to approve his policy bill by a July 4 deadline set by Senate leadership. A stock slide for Tesla also comes as sales for the automaker declined in the U.K., Germany, Italy and China in May. Tesla's sales dropped more than 45% in the U.K., despite sales across the industry increasing by 28%. Tesla will launch a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June, featuring some 20 self-driving Model Y vehicles. The service's debut in Austin follows criticism about Tesla's self-driving software and Musk's failure to disclose detailed safety and technical data about Tesla's technology. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened several investigations into Tesla's Autopilot feature over nearly a decade, including recent probes into whether Tesla's Full-Self Driving software is linked to two deaths. Musk has repeatedly said the software allows for 'full autonomy' while in a vehicle, though he has said an active driver is still required. Musk's attacks on Trump's policy bill follow his monthslong stint in the White House leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump and Musk have said Musk's departure happened on good terms, and that Musk would continue to be present as a Trump adviser. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump 'already knows' Musk's stance on his bill, saying 'it doesn't change the president's opinion.' Tesla's stock declined in recent months as Musk appeared to increasingly focus on his role with the Trump administration, with some analysts criticizing him for spending '110%' of his time as head of the DOGE rather than leading Tesla. After Tesla's first-quarter earnings report in April, Musk signaled he would be 'allocating far more of my time' to Tesla, though he had yet to commit to exiting his government role.
