Waymo Takes the World While Tesla Takes the NHTSA Test
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s expansion to Tokyo and Singapore, NHTSA’s ongoing audit of Tesla’s Cybercab in Austin and Bolt’s plan to deploy up to 25,000 Lucid robotaxis in Europe.
Today, Tesla has roughly 40 Cybercabs operating in Austin, and Grayson believes Tesla is respectfully holding at its home market while NHTSA completes a fact-finding audit. If Tesla passes, it is free to deploy in any state that permits fully autonomous operations. Walt expects the process to wrap by year-end, and Grayson reads Administrator Morrison’s Pittsburgh speech on updating outdated federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) as a signal that a pathway is opening.
As Waymo continues their global expansion, Grayson predicts Singapore will be an IONIQ 5 market and Tokyo a Toyota market, with the vehicle constraint that has defined Waymo now dissipating, and he reads the Allianz partnership as the insurance piece falling into place for Waymo’s grand European expansion.
In Las Vegas, riders can now go anywhere in the ODD, and in Nashville, The Road to Autonomy Special Field correspondent David Moss got banned from the Lyft app playing autonomy roulette.
May Mobility announced a SPAC with $10 million of 2025 revenue and a $270,000 bill of materials, and Wayve hired Waymo’s former CFO, which Grayson views as a signal Wayve may be eyeing the public markets.
On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt analyzed Einride’s deployment in Germany, Pony AI, Uber and Verne’s driver-out launch in Zagreb on a 13.67-mile fixed loop. Spain issued its first SAE Level 4 permit to WeRide and Uber, with Grayson predicting a Waymo expansion to Madrid by Q2 of next year. In Singapore, Grab is expanding their WeRide fleet 5X to 50 robotaxis.
Episode Chapters
- 0:00 Reviewing the Jason Calacanis Episode
- 03:17 Tesla Cybercab NHTSA Audit
- 06:23 NHTSA Administrator Morrison’s Pittsburgh Speech
- 08:14 Waymo on Lyft in Nashville
- 10:56 Waymo in Las Vegas
- 13:17 Waymo in Tokyo and Singapore
- 16:20 Waymo / Allianz Partnership
- 17:25 Bolt’s Grand Robotaxi Ambitions
- 20:45 May Mobility SPAC
- 23:42 Wayve’s Hires Waymo’s Fmr. CFO
- 24:45 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Robotaxis
- 28:11 Autonomous Trucking
- 30:34 Foreign Autonomy Desk
- 35:35 Next Week
The future is bright. The future is autonomous. The future is The Road to Autonomy.
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