Waymo's Moove Away from Fleet Ownership, Ford Makes Wayve's on LiDAR

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla's robotaxi launch in Austin, OpenAI's growing autonomous driving ambitions, Waymo's future and Foxconn's strategic partnership with Elektrobit.The launch of Tesla's robotaxi has sparked polarized reactions with some hailing it as revolutionary, with some hailing it as a revolutionary milestone and others scrutinizing the reliance on a safety attendant and the limited operational design domain. During the episode, Grayson and Walt discussed how this measured rollout contrasts with the overhyped expectations, while also emphasizing that no company, including Waymo has scaled robotaxis without any operational issues. Beyond Tesla, the hosts explored how Foxconn’s new partnership with Continental’s Elektrobit could position it as a contract manufacturer for next-generation autonomous fleets, potentially opening doors for tech giants with autonomous driving ambitions, OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Meta to enter the sector.While Waymo is the clear leader in the development and commercialization of robotaxis today, their long-term business ambitions remain shrouded in mystery.

Episode Chapters0:00 Moove’s $1.2 Billion Dollar Debt Raise4:30 Rideshare Usage in 20 Years12:55 Breaking Down AVOMO and Moove16:45 Uber’s Growing Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Asset Ambitions20:38 Ford’s LiDAR Demands22:32 Is Ford Talking to Waymo Again?24:50 Wayve Drive in The Big Apple27:56 Big Beautiful Bill30:29 Next Week

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