Robotaxis Explained: How Waymo, Tesla and Zoox Differ

Waymo, Tesla and Zoox all carry paying passengers in vehicles with no human driver on board. They differ in vehicles, sensors and regulatory route. Waymo fits its system to other manufacturers' vehicles and is the US market leader, according to TechCrunch. Tesla relies on cameras in its own Model Y and a new two-seat Cybercab. Amazon-owned Zoox builds a vehicle with no steering wheel under a federal exemption.

What is a robotaxi, and how is it different from driver assist?

A robotaxi is a ride-hailing vehicle in which software does all of the driving inside a defined service area. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calls that technology an automated driving system, or ADS. It says an ADS covers Levels 3 through 5 on the six-level scale (0 to 5) published by the engineering group SAE. Level 2 driver-assistance systems can steer and control speed, but the agency says the human driver must stay fully engaged throughout.

That line separates a robotaxi ride from Full Self-Driving (Supervised), the software Tesla sells to car owners. TechCrunch describes that software as driver assistance that leaves responsibility and liability with the driver.

How does Waymo work, and where does it operate?

Waymo is majority-owned by Alphabet. It installs its self-driving system in Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs and in a Zeekr-made minivan it calls the Ojai. The system combines cameras, radar and lidar, a laser-based ranging sensor.

Las Vegas became Waymo's 15th US market on September 14, 2026, according to TechCrunch. As of that month, the markets were:

• Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles
• Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio
• Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Nashville
• Denver, San Diego and Las Vegas

In Denver, San Diego, Tampa and Las Vegas, Waymo was still inviting riders in stages. In Austin and Atlanta, it launched in 2025 with rides booked through the Uber app. San Antonio service restarted in September 2026 after a pause following April flooding. TechCrunch reported that month that Waymo had roughly 4,000 robotaxis and averaged 500,000 paid rides weekly.

Is Tesla's robotaxi fully autonomous?

Only in limited areas, and not in California. Tesla began its Robotaxi program in Austin in June 2025 with an employee in the front seat who could stop the car. It started offering rides without safety drivers in January 2026. By September 1, 2026, Tesla was charging for rides in driverless Model Y vehicles in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, TechCrunch reported. Service was limited in some of those cities, it said. Tesla had pulled safety monitors from a majority of its robotaxis only in the preceding weeks, the outlet said, and the cars operate inside a geofence in each city. A geofence is a virtual boundary. Unlike Waymo, Tesla uses cameras and AI without lidar.

In California, the state DMV's permit lists show Tesla only among companies allowed to test with a safety driver. Waymo also holds driverless testing and deployment permits, the lists show. The newest list is dated September 17, 2026. TechCrunch reported in April 2026 that Tesla's Bay Area ride service used human drivers.

The Cybercab, a two-seater with no steering wheel or pedals, reached Austin streets in early September 2026. Within hours, NHTSA opened an investigation into how Tesla certified on its own that the vehicle meets federal safety standards. Those standards still require manual controls such as brake pedals.

How are Zoox and Chinese operators different?

Zoox was founded in 2014 and acquired by Amazon in 2020. It designed a cube-like electric robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals. It self-certified the vehicle in 2022, drew an NHTSA inquiry and later applied for a formal exemption.

On July 30, 2026, NHTSA announced a temporary exemption allowing commercial deployment of up to 2,500 vehicles a year for two years. It covers eight federal safety standards, TechCrunch reported. Zoox began charging for rides in Las Vegas on August 10. Its San Francisco and Austin rides were free as of early August. In California, it still needed deployment permits from the DMV and the state Public Utilities Commission.

China's Baidu Apollo Go, Pony.ai and WeRide are expanding abroad, often through Uber, TechCrunch reported in August 2026. Uber and Baidu agreed in July 2025 to put thousands of Apollo Go vehicles on Uber's platform outside the US and mainland China. WeRide's service on the Uber app in Abu Dhabi has run without human safety operators since November 2025. Pony.ai has launched in four Chinese cities and plans a European service starting in Zagreb, Croatia.

What to watch

Three questions were open as of October 6, 2026. The first is how NHTSA resolves its Cybercab inquiry. Tesla self-certified a vehicle without manual controls, while Zoox obtained an exemption. The second is whether Tesla and Zoox secure the California permits needed to charge for driverless rides. The third is enforcement. California's Senate Bill 1246 was signed on September 30, 2026, and becomes operative on July 1, 2028. It lets cities and counties seek civil penalties of up to $10,000. They can do so when a commercial autonomous vehicle obstructs emergency or police operations for more than 30 minutes after officials request a company technician.