Waymo Expands, Lyft Builds, Uber Ducks as Tesla Rewrites the Autonomy Script
Autonomy Markets8 Marras 2025

Waymo Expands, Lyft Builds, Uber Ducks as Tesla Rewrites the Autonomy Script

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s expansion into three new markets, Uber’s role in autonomy and Lyft’s growing infrastructure ambitions.


Beneath the headlines, Tesla is aiming to once again reshape the entire autonomous driving industry with their AI5 chip, FSD Unsupervised deployment, and the expansion of their insurance business. As Tesla continues to focus on what’s next, Uber is sending mixed messages to the market while engineers across Silicon Valley begin exploring alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs.


Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Walt discuss what happens when the world’s largest autonomy players diverge on strategy and long-standing partnerships begin to falter.


Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo’s Three City Expansion

2:11 Waymo & Uber’s Relationship

4:21 Managing Robotaxi Fleets

14:56 Robotaxis at Airports

16:40 Uber’s Autonomy Messaging Strategy

23:12 NVIDIA and the Growing Demand for new Chips

25:45 Applied Intuition

28:19 Tesla

37:14 Foreign Autonomy Desk

40:02 Next Week


Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.

The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.


Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/


LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for research here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology.

Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠team@lightshedtmt.com⁠⁠

Jaksot(75)

Uber's Autonomy Myths and Realities, Waymo's Capital Raise and Miami Depots

Uber's Autonomy Myths and Realities, Waymo's Capital Raise and Miami Depots

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s repricing of the robotaxi market with a $16 billion raise at a $126 billion valuation, Uber’s defensive Myths and Realit...

7 Helmi 56min

12,961 Tesla FSD Supervised Miles, Zero Interventions & Unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin

12,961 Tesla FSD Supervised Miles, Zero Interventions & Unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk are joined by their first-ever guest, David Moss, to discuss his 12,961-mile zero-intervention drive across the country on Tesla FSD, th...

4 Helmi 50min

Waymo's LiDAR Controversy, Tesla’s Mega Merger, and Waabi’s Pivot to Robotaxis

Waymo's LiDAR Controversy, Tesla’s Mega Merger, and Waabi’s Pivot to Robotaxis

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s LiDAR controversy following an incident in a Santa Monica school zone, the potential of a mega merger between Tesla, Spa...

31 Tammi 54min

Tesla Robotaxi Underwritten and Unleashed

Tesla Robotaxi Underwritten and Unleashed

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla officially removing safety attendants from Robotaxis in Austin, Waymo’s commercial launch in Miami, and Serve Robotics’ st...

24 Tammi 40min

Your Ride Just Got Fewer Sensors. Problem?

Your Ride Just Got Fewer Sensors. Problem?

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss New York Governor Hochul’s bill to legalize autonomous vehicles in New York, with New York City notably carved out, Uber’s chang...

17 Tammi 31min

CES 2026: The Autonomy Narrative Just Changed

CES 2026: The Autonomy Narrative Just Changed

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss CES 2026, Zoox’s performance on the Las Vegas Strip and Uber’s potential long-term autonomy plans. Zoox’s performance was one of...

10 Tammi 39min

Waymo's PR Problem and Tesla's Missed Deadlines

Waymo's PR Problem and Tesla's Missed Deadlines

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the fallout from Waymo’s crisis management failure in San Francisco, where a power outage left hundreds of vehicles stranded and...

5 Tammi 41min

Tesla’s Austin Moment, LiDAR Chapter 11 & HYPR Emerges

Tesla’s Austin Moment, LiDAR Chapter 11 & HYPR Emerges

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk, Grayson hit the road and met with Tim Kentley-Klay of HYPRLABS in San Francisco, Tesla started removing the safety attendees in Austin ...

20 Joulu 202541min