As electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla prepares to introduce robotaxis in the US this year, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has hinted that the company's Waymo self-driving taxis would eventually be available for anyone to purchase.
Waymo began as a small self-driving project in 2009 and separated from Google seven years later.
Since then, it has grown gradually but steadily in the complex autonomous vehicle market, which has seen a number of casualties as a result of high investment, stringent regulations, and difficult technological obstacles.
The sole company in the US that operates uncrewed robotaxis that collect fares is Waymo, which has a fleet of over 700 cars, 300 of which are based in San Francisco.
During a conference call following the company's earnings, Pichai stated only that "there is future optionality for personal ownership" without offering a timeframe or any other information about how it intends to sell Waymo cars.
To generate a three-dimensional representation of the road, Waymo's cars combine cameras with pricey sensors like lidar, adding redundancy to improve safety.
On the other hand, Tesla is able to control expenses as it solely relies on artificial intelligence and camera vision.
Given the challenges the technology has in reacting to situations like bad weather, intricate crossings, and pedestrian behavior, autonomy experts have deemed the company's goal to introduce a robotaxi service in multiple U.S. states this year as ambitious.
After years of testing its technology, Waymo is now concentrating on expanding its footprint through alliances with businesses including the ride-hailing startup Uber, the fleet management company Moove, and the automakers Hyundai, Zeekr, and Jaguar.
Waymo claims to be operating over 250,000 completely autonomous paid rides per week, despite the fact that the unit only makes up a small portion of Alphabet's worth. It currently operates in Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and it intends to open in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C.