Waymo Scolded by Judge After Refusing to Share SF Outage Data
Lyft and Uber drivers protest AVs, Tesla to stop selling FSD as standalone package, and Nothing can stop China’s driverless delivery vans
We just announced an outstanding line up of speakers for The Urban Autonomy Summit, presented by Nexar, happening January 28, 2026 in San Francisco.
Jeremy Bird — EVP Global Growth, Lyft
Xiaodi Hou — CEO & Founder, Bot Auto
Luc Vincent — Chief R&D Officer, Nexar Inc.
Ashu Rege — VP of Autonomy & Head of DoorDash Labs, DoorDash
Matthew Wood — VP of Safety & Validation, May Mobility
Ashwini Anburajan — CEO, Obi
Jeffrey Tumlin — Former Executive Director, SFMTA
Neha Palmer — CEO, Terawatt
Ryan Green — CEO & Co-Founder, Gridwise
Erin Galiger — Director, North American Markets, ROCSYS
Jonathan Colbert — Head of Marketing, Voltera
Claire Eagan — Global Head of Legal, Vay
Rachel Swan — Transportation Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
Lora Kolodny — Tech Reporter, CNBC
Rya Jetha — Tech Reporter, The San Francisco Standard
We are bringing together operators, policymakers, and mobility leaders to dig into what is next for urban autonomy. The event is nearly at capacity, so apply to attend now. If you would like to sponsor the event and receive guaranteed admission for your team, please reach out to me directly.
Top Stories of the Week
New Proposed Legislation Would Let Self-Driving Cars Operate in New York State (link, no paywall). New York Governor Kathy Hochul plans to propose a new law that would allow limited autonomous vehicle pilot programs in smaller cities across the state, while explicitly excluding New York City. Today, companies like Waymo are required to operate with a human safety driver while testing in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, with no path to commercial service. The proposal would mark a meaningful shift in New York’s restrictive AV rules, though it stops short of full deployment and does not include NYC.
Waymo scolded by judge after robotaxi company refuses to discuss details from power outage (link, no paywall). A judge criticized Waymo after the company declined to disclose how many of its robotaxis stalled during a December power outage in San Francisco, with Waymo attorney Jack Stoddard arguing the data is a trade secret. That stance is hard to reconcile with the fact that Waymo is required to report fleet size to the California Public Utilities Commission and has publicly said its SF fleet is roughly 1,000 vehicles. This was a real-world outcome on public streets during an emergency, not the disclosure of proprietary technology, thus, the trade secret claim is difficult to take seriously.
“It does unfortunately suggest there’s something that they are not keen to talk about,” said Brad Templeton, an autonomous vehicles expert based in Sunnyvale.
Related: Lyft and Uber drivers protest Waymo robotaxis as California considers further regulations (link).
“I personally am not against technology; what I am against is unfair treatment,” said Joseph Augusto, who drives for both Uber and Lyft. “We have these people, these companies, these autonomous vehicle companies who are driving around the city, and they don’t seem to be held to the same standards as us drivers.”
I don’t agree with this driver’s take, but this is likely the first of many protests as Waymo continues to gain market share. Expect these protests to feed directly into California’s ongoing regulatory discussions, even when the underlying issues are more about optics than actual safety.
Related: SF: ‘Waymo Has Got To Go’: Demonstrators Call For Robotaxis To Leave San Francisco (link). This protest feels more grounded than the driver demonstration above. The main criticism is not about job loss or opposition to autonomy, but about Waymo’s response to a real world emergency. The issue was not that robotaxis stalled during a citywide power outage, but that Waymo has been reluctant to clearly explain what happened, how many vehicles were affected, and what has changed since. That lack of transparency makes it harder for the public and regulators in San Francisco to assess risk and preparedness, giving this protest more legitimacy than broad anti robotaxi messaging.
Other Stuff
New, larger Waymo map in Austin (link). As a reminder, Austin is one of two markets, along with Atlanta, where Waymo rides are only available through the Uber app.
‘Our 1st stock pick of the year? It’s Lyft because if Robotaxis are like mini-hotels, then Lyft is the housekeeping’ (link). The argument is that Lyft’s FlexDrive operations could handle charging, cleaning, and maintenance for scaling robotaxi fleets, roles that autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo do not want to manage themselves. While that premise makes sense, Lyft is one of several viable fleet operations options, alongside players like Hertz and Avis. Lyft adds demand coupling, but the synergies between FlexDrive and demand appear limited, making FlexDrive more of a nice-to-have than a clear moat or must-have.
Waymo has the robotaxi lead. Tesla, Zoox, and Uber are coming to the streets (link, no paywall). The article looks at how the competitive dynamics may change as additional robotaxi operators begin operating in San Francisco in 2026, and includes my perspective on where Waymo’s lead is durable and where pressure may emerge as the market opens up. Also excited to have Rya Jetha, the author, moderate a panel at our SF AV Summit on 1/28.
Enter to win $250 by completing the Obi autonomous rideshare survey (link).
Seattle explores how to keep robotaxis from disrupting emergencies (link).
Stream and Uber Partner to Bring Autonomous Robot Delivery to Restaurants (link). Through Stream’s integration with Uber’s AV delivery network, fully electric robots pull up curbside to grab orders, easing pickup congestion while keeping food secure in locked, insulated compartments. Stream basically provides the software layer that connects restaurants to Uber’s AV delivery network.
Tesla to stop selling FSD as a standalone package and switch to subscription only (link, no paywall).
Waymo in talks with Chinese EV brands for Australian driverless taxis (link, no paywall).
Waymo has already begun searching for office space in Sydney and held discussions about driverless car testing services with a number of electric vehicle makers, including Geely, one of China’s largest, said two people familiar with the plans who requested anonymity to speak freely.
Waymo enters the swamp (link). I know this interchange all too well :)
‘Big News from Ottopia. This week we unveiled our Level-4 autonomous driving product for defense and industrial applications, covering autonomous mission planning, execution, and after-action analysis’ (link).
Mercedes temporarily scraps its Level 3 ‘eyes-off’ driving feature (link, no paywall).
‘Wayve drove autonomously in Las Vegas zero-shot — no prior training on the city, no disengagements all week’ (link).
What else we’re reading/listening to
Autonomous Delivery Robots with Coco CEO Zach Rash (link). My latest podcast episode where we discussed Coco Robotics’ progress over time, what autonomy looks like in practice including the ongoing role of teleoperation, and the customer experience around pricing, no tipping, and delivery costs, along with Coco’s unit economics, operating costs, and utilization.
15 Charts That Explain the Autonomous Vehicle Industry (link).
AVs/Animals behaving badly
‘Waymo getting a ticket while I was inside. It drove off with the ticket on the windshield’ (link).
‘In China, driverless delivery vans have become a total meme, they plow through crumbling roads, fresh concrete, motorcycles, anything. Nothing stops them’ (link). By far, the most-shared link in my inbox this week.
Austin school district said Waymo continues to illegally pass its buses following recall (link). The second video does appear to show a technical traffic violation by a Waymo vehicle, but Waymo is generally very strong at perception and collision avoidance, using lidar, radar, and cameras to reliably detect pedestrians and children. This looks like a rules-compliance and optics issue rather than a failure to see or avoid kids, in my opinion.
Serve Robotics vs. fresh cement (link). Why does the robot look so guilty??
Self driving delivery truck vs dogs (link).
Neat Jobs
Sr. Mechanical Engineer at Tesla (link) via Kieran Weiszmann.
Software Engineer - Mission Planning at Zoox (link) via Aaveg Mittal.
Energy & Utilities Manager at Terawatt (link) via Jason Berry.
Sr. Industrial Engineer at Tesla (link) via Dario Motomochi.
You can check out our new AV job board where we post all of the roles we feature (link). If people like it, I will find a way to turn it into something a bit prettier.
Cool Rides
Grab CEO, Anthony Tan: Our Ai.R autonomous shuttles are open for community rides in Punggol (Route 1) today! I took a test ride a few weeks ago because I wanted to be certain everything was ready and reliable before we invited our community to hop on board (link). Cool to see Grab creating a pathway for existing driver-partners to become safety operators, supported by investments in programs like GrabAcademy.
‘Last week in Las Vegas, I had the extraordinary opportunity – riding in a fully autonomous Zoox vehicle’ (link).
‘Finally got a chance to ride in Zoox’s AV in the wild - around Las Vegas’ (link).
Related: Stay tuned for our next guest post from a new Zoox rider who has already racked up 37 rides in less than a month!
Shout-outs
Big thanks to TDD readers Donnell N, Susan A, Kate M and Neha P for referring new subscribers. If there’s someone you think would enjoy TDD, just forward this email to them or use the referral button below.
Until next week :)
-Harry