The robotaxi takeover
Waymo is lowkey everywhere right now. If you feel like you’re seeing those white robotaxis non-stop, it’s not just in your head—the company has scaled from just three cities in 2024 to 15 today. We’re talking about 500,000 paid rides every single week. It’s giving main character energy, but if you look at the actual data, the hype is pretty concentrated.
The Texas-California bubble
Despite the nationwide expansion, 80% of Waymo’s roughly 4,000-car fleet is stuck in just two states: California and Texas. Texas is the current vibe shift, with the fleet there jumping 49% in just the last three weeks alone. As of September 24, there are 1,102 autonomous vehicles registered in the Lone Star State. It’s clear they’re doubling down on Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
Meet the 'Ojai'
The secret sauce behind this surge is a new minivan called the 'Ojai.' It’s a modified Zeekr RT—a Chinese vehicle platform owned by Geely (which also owns Volvo). Waymo ships them over, strips out any Chinese connected-car tech, and outfits them at an Arizona factory with their own 6th-gen self-driving stack and Google’s Gemini AI.
Is it a W or an L for the budget?
Real talk: these minivans are supposed to make robotaxis cheaper to run, but tariffs are kind of ruining the fun. Importing them from China is expensive, and Waymo is essentially eating those costs for now to maintain its growth. Research firm MoffettNathanson says Waymo is on track to import 5,100 of these by the end of the year, likely spreading them out to Florida and Las Vegas next.
Why it matters
Waymo is playing the long game here, betting that scale will eventually lead to profit. They’re dealing with international trade headaches and heavy infrastructure costs just to ensure there's a robotaxi ready when you need a lift, proving that even a Google-backed giant is still hustling to prove the business model works at mass scale.
