Zoox Reveals Updated Robotaxi Design Before Expansion
Waymo opens up Nashville and sets sights on Germany, Terawatt raises up to $300 Million and Ben Hubbard joins The Driverless Digest as Editor
This week’s edition is brought to you by Rocsys – global leader in hands-free charging and fleet service solutions for electric and autonomous fleets.
Top Stories of the Week
Amazon’s Zoox unveils redesigned robotaxi ahead of upcoming expansion (link). Funny how everyone calls the Zoox vehicle a “toaster” now. Jokes aside though, it’s cool to see them iterating on the design so quickly. One advantage of building a purpose-built vehicle is that you can make these kinds of refinements without waiting years for a traditional model refresh. Looking forward to seeing Zoox launch paid rides later this year.
The company said it’s equipping the vehicles with higher-quality touchscreens, more comfortable seats and headrests, and small interior tweaks that will make it easier for passengers to spot forgotten items like keys and phones. Zoox is also enlarging and relocating the robotaxi’s “bidirectional reflectors,” which help riders and others such as law enforcement distinguish the vehicle’s front from its rear, so that they’re easier to spot.
Lyft CEO: we’re setting a multi-sensor safety standard for autonomous rides (link, no paywall). Interesting stance. Tesla was the first company I thought of when I read this, given they are the only major AV developer pursuing a camera-only approach. But this op-ed also highlights how platforms like Lyft are establishing their own technical and safety standards for AV partners, rather than simply accepting whatever technology an operator chooses. That said, I’m not sure I agree with evaluating AVs this way. As we’ve written before, I’d rather see an outcome-based framework that judges systems on real-world safety performance, not the specific technology or sensor stack they use.
As we’ve evaluated various systems, we’ve come to a conclusion: To meet our safety standards, autonomous vehicles must have a multi-sensor approach before we allow them on the Lyft platform. To be clear, this policy applies to fully driverless vehicles operating on the Lyft platform, not to driver-assistance features used by human drivers.
Related: Lyft’s Hybrid Approach to Autonomy with CEO David Risher (link).
Excited to announce that we’ve brought on Ben Hubbard, formerly of Zag Daily, as our new Editor on The Driverless Digest! (link).
Other Stuff
AI is coming for truck drivers. A new bill is trying to brace US workers for impact (link, no paywall).
New global rules clear the road for driverless vehicles (link).
Related: UK government drafts 10 safety principles for autonomous vehicles (link).
Rocsys M1 Keeps Robotaxi Fleets Moving. Bay by Bay.
This edition of The Driverless Digest is brought to you by Rocsys. Their M1 system, an overhead rail-mounted solution, integrates with virtually any depot layout and can charge multiple vehicles across up to 10 bays, supporting safe, uninterrupted service. Compatible with any charger and vehicle type across mixed fleets, the M1 enables AVs to get back on the road faster while improving the bottom line. To learn more, reach out to Erin Galiger, Rocsys Director of North American Markets, at egaliger@rocsys.com.
Waymo Charging Partner Terawatt Raises Up to $300 Million in Debt (link, no paywall).
The funding underscores investor confidence in the rollout of robotaxis as operators like Waymo seek to offer more commercial rides in the US and beyond.
Related: Charging the Fleets of the Future with Terawatt CEO Neha Palmer (link).
TaskUs Survey: Robotaxi Adoption Continues to Surge, with 38% of Americans Likely to Try One in the Next 12 Months (link).
Consumers’ top two sentiments surrounding robotaxis are curiosity (42%) and nervousness (41%). 41% of consumers haven’t ridden in a robotaxi because they haven’t had the opportunity. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of consumers who live in a city offering robotaxis fully trust them, compared to 4% of consumers who don’t. 38% of Americans are likely to try a robotaxi in the next 12 months.
Waymo continues expansion of robotaxis in Nashville (link).
Nashville riders previously had to sign up on a waiting list before they could hail a robotaxi. But on Thursday the company announced anyone in the city's service area could sign up for the Waymo app and ride instantly without a waiting period.
Komatsu becomes first OEM to commission 1,000 ultra-class autonomous haul trucks (link).
‘At this point, I’m not sure there are any human drivers on the road in LA after midnight’ (link).
‘Cambridge Electric Transport and Osmosis AI have signed an MoU to collaborate on autonomy trials using the CitiPod’ (link).
CaoCao and May Mobility Announce Strategic Partnership to Pioneer Robotaxi Expansion in Europe (link).
‘New Waymo Hyundai spotted in DTLA’ (link).
Waymo Registers German Entity for Future European Expansion (link, no paywall).
The company registered a local entity called Waymo Germany GmbH that will “offer ride-hailing services with autonomous vehicles and provide services that support the commercial offering of such services by third parties,” according to a company registration filing.
‘Go eyes robotaxis and acquisitions after Japan’s biggest IPO of 2026 — here’s why it matters’ (link).
Go, which raised ¥88.6 billion ($553 million) in its IPO on Tuesday, plans to allocate ¥8 billion ($50 million) of the proceeds to expanding its robotaxi business and pursuing acquisitions, according to a company spokesperson.
‘Can you import autonomous driving?... This is what running AVs actually looks like from the inside.’ (link).
"Wheels up!" by Southwest Airlines was a great slogan, emphasizing that value is created only when flying. The same dynamic is true in the robotaxi market: money is earned on the road, and at the current stage where commercial viability is the next milestone, and roborides are a fraction of the total ridehail demand you just got to get your vehicle out there as frequently as possible” (link).
Rivian owners file lawsuit alleging false promises on self-driving features (link). Can’t say I blame them.
The class-action complaint, which was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, focuses on the first-generation models of the R1T and R1S and claims that Rivian represented that these flagship vehicles would be capable of hands-free, eyes-off driving.
Waymo Has Been Defeated by New York City (link).
WeRide, Geely Farizon and Kwoon Chung launch RHD robotaxi (link).
Tesla claims driver ‘manually overrode self-driving’ in deadly Texas crash (link, no paywall). This theory makes sense, since Tesla’s FSD Supervised generally isn’t going to drive 70+ mph through a residential neighborhood on its own. It’s a tragic crash, but based on what’s been reported so far, I don’t really see how Tesla should be at fault here.
Tesla is pushing back on claims that its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system caused a fatal Texas crash, where a speeding Model 3 barreled into a home, killing a 76-year-old woman inside. In a reply on X, Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy says the driver “manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%.”
‘Waymo World Cup traffic outside SoFi stadium for the US vs Turkey match’ (link).
What else we’re reading/listening to
My First Ride in Waymo’s New Ojai (link).
Inside The Ride: Scaling Zoox | Episode One (link). It was cool to hear how much passion Jesse had in this interview and all of the technical details he shared. Excited to hear his keynote at ATS 2026, where I’ll also be speaking on the Journalist Panel on Thursday, July 30, at 11:40 am. Drop me a note if you’ll be in attendance, there’s an impressive lineup of speakers.
INTERVIEW With Pony AI CEO James Peng: “In two years, we’ll be bigger than Waymo on fleet size” (link).
The Last 50 Ft by Autolane: Ep #12 | The Rideshare Guy Got in a Waymo. Everything Changed (link).
We’ve released recordings from the Detroit Urban Autonomy Summit. The audio quality wasn’t amazing but all the more reason to attend our next one in person in Austin on 10/14.
A New Vision: Improved Technology for Safer Streets & Highways (link).
Charged Up Infrastructure: Electrification’s Capital Moment (link).
Owned vs On-Demand: Which Way for AVs? (link).
AVs/Humans behaving badly
Teens seen hanging out of Waymo in busy Santa Monica traffic (link). Honestly, this sounds exactly like something that teenage boys would do.
‘Waymo driving in oncoming traffic’ (link).
‘Zoox - what do u mean call failed’ (link). Not quite sure what happened here, but it did make me wonder how you’d exit a Zoox in an emergency1. With Waymo, you can simply pull the door handle and get out at any time.
‘Damage to Waymo Seat’ (link).
‘Waymo robotaxi stuck in high water on Fitzhugh Avenue’ (link).
AVs/Human behaving “goodly” :)
‘My Cybertruck, on full FSD, in downtown Los Angeles, suddenly swerved to the left and narrowly avoided a collision with the white Audi car changing lanes very fast. If I were the driver, I wouldn’t have been able to prevent the accident’ (link). Impressive! Not sure how you miss a Cybertruck though 😂.
Shout-outs
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Neat Jobs
Product Manager, Sensing Resilience at Waymo (link) via Volker Grabe.
Policy & Regulatory Affairs Manager at Zoox (link) via Jonathan Changus.
Quality Management Lead at Wayve (link) via Tim Dawkins.
Multiple Mobility/AV/FleetOps roles at Moove, via Arun Victor
Multiple autonomy roles at Rivian, via Mikael Thor.
Job Moves
William Joel Sánchez: Aurora -> Nuro (link).
Taylor Powell: Carnegie Robotics -> Waymo (link).
Sami Pukkila: Polestar -> Wayve (link).
Alireza Abbaspour: Qualcomm -> Waymo (link).
Lando Juarez: Uber -> Bedrock Robotics (link).
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Until next week :)
-Harry
Headed out to SF soon. So pumped to Zoox. Love this design so much.