Alphabet-owned Waymo is accelerating its dominance in the self-driving taxi market with a newly announced expansion into Washington, D.C., set for 2026.
The move solidifies Waymo’s position as the leader in the autonomous ride-hailing industry while further exposing Tesla’s lagging progress in the robotaxi space.
Waymo made the announcement on Tuesday, stating that it has officially begun the process of launching its commercial robotaxi service in the U.S. capital. The company, which has been steadily expanding its presence in major cities, said its rollout in Washington will involve test drives conducted by human operators to gather data on the city’s roadways. These initial tests will be followed by full-fledged autonomous rides once regulatory approvals are in place.
“We’ll continue introducing ourselves to D.C.’s communities and emergency responders over the coming months,” the company said in the release. “We’ll also continue to work closely with policymakers to formalize the regulations needed to operate without a human behind the wheel in the District.”
The expansion follows Waymo’s growing footprint in key markets. The company’s Waymo One ride-hailing app is already available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Silicon Valley. Recently, it extended services across a 27-square-mile area in California, covering Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and parts of Sunnyvale.
Beyond Washington, D.C., Waymo also plans to enter Miami in 2026 through a partnership with the startup Moove.io.
While Waymo’s dominance continues to grow, Tesla has struggled to keep up. Just a few years ago, Tesla was seen as the frontrunner in the race to bring autonomous ride-hailing to the masses.
Elon Musk had long promised a fleet of self-driving robotaxis, even claiming in 2019 that Tesla would have one million of them on the roads by 2020. However, the reality has been far different. Despite repeated assurances, Tesla has yet to manufacture a dedicated robotaxi or launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service. Its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software remains in beta mode and still requires human supervision, preventing Tesla from competing directly with companies like Waymo that have already deployed driverless services.
In contrast, Waymo has surged ahead, completing over 4 million paid autonomous rides in 2024 alone—far more than any other self-driving company. Unlike Tesla, which relies on camera-based vision for its self-driving technology, Waymo has leveraged a combination of LiDAR, radar, and AI-powered software to create a highly sophisticated system that has been widely regarded as the most advanced in the industry.
“I’ve experienced firsthand how safely the Waymo Driver operates around pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users,” said Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “Waymo has worked with GHSA and our first responder network as they’ve expanded their service, always putting safety first. As someone who walks to work almost every day, I’m excited to share the road with Waymo in Washington, D.C.”
Tesla’s struggles have only been compounded by growing regulatory scrutiny. While Waymo has secured permits to operate fully driverless taxis in multiple cities, Tesla’s FSD software has been criticized for safety concerns, with regulators hesitant to approve a fully autonomous deployment.
Meanwhile, General Motors’ Cruise division has also suffered setbacks, including the shutdown of its robotaxi service in December following a series of safety incidents.
Waymo wants to take its robotaxis to Washington, D.C., aiming to launch its Waymo One service in the nation’s capital by 2026. Doing so, however, would first necessitate a change to local law, which requires the presence of “safety drivers” in autonomous vehicles. Washington is also one of the country’s most congested cities, The Verge notes, and operating there could draw the attention of the federal government, which has largely left regulation of autonomous vehicles up to local jurisdictions.
