This week’s edition is brought to you by Mobileye, a leader in driving intelligence and autonomous technology. Meet with their team at next week’s Urban Autonomy Summit in Austin!
Top Story of the Week
‘Silver looks good on the Ojai. Introducing the silver Ojai, featuring leatherette seats, wireless charging, and refreshed interior details’ (link). I like the color, and Waymo says both the silver and the existing blue Ojais will remain on the road going forward. In some cities, the two versions will operate side by side, while others may only get one. Waymo also upgraded the sound system, which I’m happy about since that was something I thought was lacking on my first ride.
Waymo locks in $5B loan from Blackstone, PIMCO to fuel robotaxi expansion (link).
The loan marks Waymo’s first-ever debt financing and comes just months after its $16 billion equity raise. Waymo says the new capital will give it more financial flexibility as it expands in existing markets and launches in new cities in the U.S. and abroad, although the company offered few specifics on exactly how the money will be used.
Other Stuff
Deliveroo signs exclusive UK robot deal with Coco Robotics (link).
DoorDash-owned Deliveroo is launching its first autonomous delivery service in the UK through an exclusive partnership with Coco Robotics, which is also making its UK debut. The robots will also collect data on pavement hazards, construction barriers and abandoned e-scooters to improve real-time navigation alerts for blind and partially sighted pedestrians.
‘32 people have died on DC roads already this year. We have a mobile billboard in DC today calling on policymakers to legalize autonomous vehicles, which don’t drive drunk or distracted’ (link).
Uber invests in Verne, confirmed by the CEO of the Croatian robotaxi company (link).
Volvo, Waabi Launch Autonomous Freight Runs From Dallas To Houston (link).
The Volvo announcement said Volvo VNL Autonomous trucks powered by the Waabi Driver are now moving freight for logistics company Warp directly to third-party facilities along the Dallas-Houston corridor. The trucks are operating autonomously, although an observer currently remains in the driver’s seat.
Related: From Trucks to Robotaxis: Waabi’s One Driver with CEO Raquel Urtasun (link).
Robotaxi emergency phone numbers found disconnected and unstaffed (link, no paywall). Great reporting by David here.
Of the 17 hotlines that NBC News tested, a person answered immediately in seven instances. In four other cases, including those of the phone numbers of Tesla and Waymo, machines answered initially but then moved the calls to people in less than a minute.
Waymo: Sober Drivers Still Face Nearly 4x Nighttime Risk: Why Road Safety Demands a Safe System Approach (link).
Mobileye’s Approach to Scaling Autonomous Mobility
We’re excited to partner with Mobileye this week. Bringing autonomous mobility to scale takes AI that can understand the complexity of the real world, systems designed for verifiable safety, and technology engineered for commercial deployment. Mobileye brings decades of experience working with automakers around the world to that challenge.
Uber and China’s Pony.ai plan to launch robotaxis in London (link). What’s most interesting to me about this announcement is that Pony.ai is now Uber’s third AV partner targeting London, joining Wayve and Baidu’s Apollo Go. That makes London one of the clearest examples yet of Uber’s AV aggregation strategy playing out in the real world, with multiple autonomy providers plugging into the same marketplace.
The two companies said on Thursday that they would begin testing Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis in London in the coming weeks.
‘Someone built a Waymo teleoperator with San Francisco map’ (link).
China Robotaxis Face Losses as Utilization Trails Waymo, BI Says (link, no paywall).
Chinese robotaxi operators Pony AI and WeRide face sustained operating losses through 2028 as domestic fleet utilization lags Waymo’s rate of more than 58%, Bloomberg Intelligence said.
Hundreds of self-driving cars coming to Nashville with new Waymo, Lyft facility (link).
The 80,000-square-foot depot, located in a former post office building near the airport, officially opens Oct. 12. It will run around the clock with three shifts monitoring and servicing vehicles. The depot is operated by Flexdrive, Lyft’s fleet management subsidiary, which took over day-to-day operations of Waymo’s vehicle fleet earlier this year.
Musk explains why Tesla Robotaxi is not running at night, and lidar is the answer (link).
‘Our Vision for London: How Waymo can Support a Safer, Connected UK Capital’ (link).
‘This is how Tesla charges unsupervised robotaxis at a public supercharger’ (link).
Waymo: Preparing for the Unexpected: A New Framework for AV Incident Management Exercises (link).
Related: The AV Crisis Playbook (link).
San Francisco cracks down on where robotaxis can go during Fleet Week (link).
People traveling into San Francisco's northern waterfront during Fleet Week may have their trip cut short if they're in a robotaxi, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said. Robotaxis, such as Waymo, will not be able to enter the area as geofencing will be in effect Friday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Traditional rideshare services such as Uber, Lyft and taxis will be able to provide service without boundary restrictions.
‘Spotted on a Southern California highway’ (link).
Can good design stop content creators from having sex in robotaxis? (link).
Waymo begins fully autonomous testing in Detroit, other northern cities (link, no paywall).
What else we’re reading/listening to
Europe’s Robotaxi Reality Check with Augustin Friedel (link). Our latest podcast where TDD Editor Ben Hubbard sits down with software-defined vehicles (SDV) and AI-enabled mobility expert Augustin Friedel to discuss Uber and Bolt’s roles in Europe’s robotaxi market, the infrastructure needed to support autonomous fleets, and what it takes to turn pilots into scalable businesses, among other things.
Terawatt’s First Product Chief on Building The Infrastructure Behind Autonomous Fleets (link). Our latest partner piece where Ben interviews Titiaan Palazzi about what it takes to build depots for autonomous fleets. They discuss screening 50 sites for every one built, laying 10 miles of cable per depot, and why these facilities handle much more than charging.
EXCLUSIVE: Waymo Wants Into LAX. What’s Taking So Long? (link).
Related: Waymo is testing SFO terminal curbside drop-offs, according to a now-deleted tweet by a Waymo employee (link).
Understanding Robots by Timothy B. Lee: Tesla is finally scaling up driverless robotaxi service (link).
Changing Lanes by Andrew Miller: Who Drives Ridehail? (link).
AVs/Humans behaving badly
Waymo passenger captures video as man hurls eggs at the driverless vehicle (link).
‘Riders exit Waymo driving wrong direction’ (link).
‘Cut off by a Waymo’ (link).
Shout-outs
Big thanks to TDD readers for referring new subscribers. If there’s someone you think would enjoy TDD, feel free to forward this email or use the referral button below, and we’ll make sure to shout out your company.
Neat Jobs
Autonomous Vehicle Field Support Agent at Oro Mobility (link) via Michelle Russell.
Lead Mechanical Engineer at Rocsys (link) via Merel Hageman.
Field Safety Engineer, Germany at Waymo (link) via Andrea Vaccaro.
Job Moves
Guy Peterson: Uber -> Also (link).
Barrie Dickinson: Lightship -> Zoox (link).
Andreas Wendel: Kodiak -> Applied Intuition (link).
Mollie Cohen D’Agostino: UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies -> California Public Utilities Commission (link).
Until next week :)
-Harry