Waymo is aiming to more than double its paid autonomous rides this year. CEO Tekedra Mawakana said the company believes it can reach 1 million weekly paid rides in 2026, up from roughly 400,000 today.
The push would mark a major milestone for the Alphabet $GOOGL ( ▼ 1.06% ) subsidiary as the robotaxi race intensifies.
Scaling the Fleet, Expanding the Map
Waymo plans to hit that target by adding new vehicle models and expanding into additional cities. Markets on deck include Washington, Detroit, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Denver.
The company currently operates in six cities and expanded to Miami in January. It has more than 2,000 fully driverless vehicles on the road, all operating without human safety drivers.
Tesla’s Hybrid Approach
Meanwhile, Tesla $TSLA says it is running about 500 robotaxis across Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area. However, most of those vehicles still rely on human drivers.
The contrast highlights a key difference in strategy. Waymo is scaling fully autonomous service, while Tesla continues to roll out supervised deployments.
The Race to Real-World Scale
If Waymo reaches 1 million weekly rides, it would represent a significant validation of commercial demand for autonomous mobility. For Alphabet $GOOGL, it also strengthens the case that Waymo could evolve from a moonshot into a meaningful revenue contributor.
The robotaxi race is no longer theoretical. It is now about scale, safety, and who can dominate real world miles first.