Every week, it seems as if one of the major robotaxi companies makes a new announcement.
Tesla Robotaxi, Amazon’s Zoox, and Alphabet’s Waymo are three of the most prominent players in the U.S. autonomous vehicle space.
Waymo quick facts:
- Founded in 2009.
- Passed the first U.S. state self-driving test in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2012. Source: IEEE Spectrum
- Spun out from Alphabet as a separate subsidiary in 2016.
- 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. By 2026, the company expects to add 2,000 more.
The three have been competing for headlines in recent weeks as they publicize expansion plans and regulatory accomplishments. In July, Zoox cut the ribbon on a new serial production facility for purpose-built U.S. robotaxis in Hayward, California, near Silicon Valley.
Last month, Tesla received approval to operate a ride-hailing service in Arizona. Tesla Robotaxi now has authorization to operate in Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Arizona.
However, as they expand their services, autonomous vehicles are also encountering issues in real-world environments.
Waymo has a fleet of about 2,000 autonomous vehicles on the road.
Waymo filmed driving through a dangerous police standoff
Autonomous vehicles receive invaluable data training from traffic simulations; however, real-world environments offer scenarios that even the most sophisticated supercomputer cannot simulate on its own.
A viral video on social media shows a Waymo vehicle making a left on a large avenue in Los Angeles.
Related: Waymo caught being a bad neighbor in viral video
There is no oncoming traffic while the vehicle makes a left turn because a wall of police cars blocks the traffic coming from the opposite direction.
The police cars are empty as the police are all outside of their vehicles, pointing their guns at the driver of another car, who is lying face-first on the ground.
A police helicopter searchlight follows the Waymo as it slowly traverses the intersection, putting the vehicle directly in the police’s line of fire. Even the suspect on the ground seems confused by the car driving in front of him.
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NHTSA opens investigation into Waymo
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.
Now NHTSA is probing Waymo for a similar issue.
Related: Waymo pulls ahead of Tesla Robotaxi, Amazon Zoox with latest move
The NHTSA opened a Preliminary Evaluation to investigate approximately 2,000 Waymo 5th-gen automated driving system-equipped vehicles.
The agency is investigating “traffic safety violations relating to stopping when encountering a school bus, particularly when the bus is boarding or offboarding students.”
The investigation arose following a media report that showed the vehicle failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing and stop arm deployed.
California police pull over Waymo for illegal U-turn
Police in San Bruno, Calif., made a puzzling discovery last week when they spotted a white Jaguar driving erratically.
Officers pulled the car over after witnessing it make an illegal U-turn at a traffic light in front of them, but got a surprise as they approached the vehicle.
“It was a first for both officers” when they realized there was no driver behind the wheel of the vehicle, according to a San Bruno Police Department Facebook post.
The officers could not issue a ticket to the driverless vehicle, so they contacted Waymo instead to inform the company about the “glitch.”
“Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn’t be issued (our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot.’ Hopefully, the reprogramming will keep it from making any more illegal moves,” the police said.