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(76)

Autonomy Markets: California’s Economy Needs Waymo at Airports, Could Apple Surpass Amazon in Autonomy? May Mobility, an Undiscovered Gem

Autonomy Markets: California’s Economy Needs Waymo at Airports, Could Apple Surpass Amazon in Autonomy? May Mobility, an Undiscovered Gem

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discus Waymo’s Bay Area expansion and what it means for the great highway and airport unlocks, our visit to May Mobility in Ann Arbor an...

15 Maalis 202545min

Waymo’s Missing Tier, Uber and Lyft Keep Rides Moving and Hyundai’s Robotaxi Push

Waymo’s Missing Tier, Uber and Lyft Keep Rides Moving and Hyundai’s Robotaxi Push

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discus Waymo's launch in Austin, Alphabet's strong commitment to Waymo and Hyundai's robotaxi ambitions. On March 5, Waymo launched excl...

8 Maalis 202538min

Waymo Needs Fewer Robotaxis Than You Think and Tesla’s California Dreams

Waymo Needs Fewer Robotaxis Than You Think and Tesla’s California Dreams

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss why Waymo needs fewer robotaxis than you think and Tesla’s emerging plans for a robotaxi network in California.Waymo continues t...

1 Maalis 202537min

Lyft’s Autonomous Vehicle Manifesto, LiDAR’s Potential Big Winners, Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicle Fleets

Lyft’s Autonomous Vehicle Manifesto, LiDAR’s Potential Big Winners, Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicle Fleets

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Lyft’s autonomous vehicle manifesto, the impending consolidation of the LiDAR market, the emerging personally-owned autonomous v...

22 Helmi 202549min

Uber’s Autonomy Push, Hesai’s Make-or-Break Moment, NVIDIA’s Big Plans

Uber’s Autonomy Push, Hesai’s Make-or-Break Moment, NVIDIA’s Big Plans

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Walt’s recent trip to San Francisco, where he observed more aggressive driving from Waymo vehicles and spotted a FasTrak transpo...

16 Helmi 202543min

Uber’s Autonomous Vehicle Keys to Success, Waymo’s Big Moves and Detroit’s Pivot to Licensing

Uber’s Autonomous Vehicle Keys to Success, Waymo’s Big Moves and Detroit’s Pivot to Licensing

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk break down Uber’s Q4 earnings, highlighting their five keys for success in autonomy: regulation, superhuman safety, cost-effective hardw...

8 Helmi 202551min

Tesla Earnings, Waymo’s Announcements and Kodiak’s Historical Milestone

Tesla Earnings, Waymo’s Announcements and Kodiak’s Historical Milestone

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discussed Tesla’s Q4 earnings, Waymo’s road trip and Kodiak’s historical announcement. It was Tesla this week that captured investors at...

1 Helmi 202546min

Trump, Elon, Teamsters, and The Race for Autonomy: Who’s Steering the Future?

Trump, Elon, Teamsters, and The Race for Autonomy: Who’s Steering the Future?

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk explored the potential impacts of President Trump's administration on the autonomous vehicle and truck industries. With tensions brewing...

25 Tammi 202542min