---
title: "Tesla Robotaxi Rival Waymo Announces California Expansion As Autonomous Taxi Race Heats Up"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/240992588.md"
description: "Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous vehicle company, has announced an expansion of its ride-hailing services in California after receiving regulatory approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. The expansion will cover the South Bay and most of San Jose. Waymo recently achieved 250,000 weekly paid autonomous robotaxi trips and is collaborating with Toyota to explore personal ownership options for autonomous vehicles. Experts believe Tesla's upcoming robotaxi launch will not be impacted by Waymo's developments, with some asserting Tesla will dominate the autonomous market."
datetime: "2025-05-20T09:05:02.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/240992588.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/240992588.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/240992588.md)
---

> Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/240992588.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/240992588.md)


# Tesla Robotaxi Rival Waymo Announces California Expansion As Autonomous Taxi Race Heats Up

**Alphabet Inc.**'s GOOGL GOOG autonomous vehicle company **Waymo,** has announced it will expand its ride-hailing services following regulatory approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.

**What Happened:** The company took to the social media platform X as it shared the announcement on its official X handle on Monday.

"We're very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!" The company said in the post.

Waymo also said that the CPUC approval for the expansion of its service would not affect the company's operations in the near future.

**Why It Matters:** Waymo has been at the forefront of the Autonomous Taxi sector in the U.S., as **Gerber Kawasaki**‘s **Ross Gerber** hailed the company's tech as being "better than a human."

Waymo also recently announced it hit the 250,000 weekly paid autonomous robotaxi trips milestone and announced a collaboration with **Toyota Motor Corp** TM to explore personal ownership options of AVs.

Waymo isn't the only company at play in the sector, though, with ride-sharing giant **Uber Technologies Inc.** UBER also making moves in the segment through partnerships with companies like self-driving startup **Pony AI** PONY.

Elsewhere, experts like **Wedbush Investment**'s **Dan Ives** believe **Tesla Inc.**'s TSLA robotaxi launch in June won't be affected by Waymo's partnership with Toyota. "Tesla will own the autonomous market in my view and no one can compete with their scale and scope," Ives shared.

_Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by_ _following this link_.

-   Cathie Wood Says Brand Damage Has Happened For Tesla But Believes It Isn’t Long-Term: ‘Tesla…Will Have A Lock…’

_Photo courtesy: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com_

### Related Stocks

- [Alphabet Inc. (GOOG.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md)
- [Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md)
- [Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md)

## Related News & Research

- [Google's Nobel Prize-Winning AI Chief: 'We Don't Feel Any Pressure' While OpenAI Burns $14 Billion](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281220147.md)
- [Google has been developing screenless Fitbit band and plans to release it later this year - Bloomberg News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281269407.md)
- [Waymo starts robotaxi services at San Antonio International Airport](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281196607.md)
- [Does Google's New TurboQuant Technology Mean the Party's Over for Micron?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281339841.md)
- [Oracle begins layoffs affecting thousands, CNBC reports](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281277680.md)