Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Waymo, has launched public road testing in Philadelphia, marking another milestone in its push to bring self-driving ride-hailing services to major U.S. cities.
The move is part of the company’s broader effort to expand its Waymo One robotaxi service beyond its current strongholds in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas.
Announcing the test on Monday via X, Waymo said, “This city is a National Treasure,” adding a touch of local flavor to its rollout by referencing Philadelphia’s gritty spirit and beloved cheesesteaks.
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The test fleet will operate manually for now, with trained human safety drivers behind the wheel as Waymo collects detailed mapping data and monitors traffic conditions across complex urban neighborhoods — from North Central and University City to Eastwick and even along stretches by the Delaware River.
The Philadelphia trial will run through the fall and, according to the company, focus on evaluating how its Waymo Driver system responds to the city’s dense layout, unique traffic signals, and varied infrastructure. These “road trips,” as Waymo calls them, are crucial for gauging feasibility in new locations and are often precursors to full driverless deployment if regulatory and safety benchmarks are met.
However, the move into Philadelphia comes as Waymo faces intensifying competition, particularly from Tesla, which has renewed its ambitions for robotaxis. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has declared autonomous ride-hailing as the next major chapter in Tesla’s growth, signaling a race between the two tech giants for dominance in a future self-driving market that could transform urban mobility.
Tesla has quietly been testing its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta system in Austin, Texas — a city where Waymo already operates. Unlike Waymo, which takes a more conservative, highly supervised rollout approach, Tesla’s software-first strategy allows it to gather data from tens of thousands of Tesla vehicles already in private hands. The company is using this massive fleet to refine its FSD model with a view to launching a dedicated robotaxi vehicle, which Musk has hinted could be unveiled as soon as August 2025.
While Waymo’s vehicles use lidar, a defined set of rules, and pre-mapped terrain, Tesla’s approach relies more on neural networks and real-time camera-based perception. Musk insists this makes Tesla’s system more scalable globally — though safety regulators have raised concerns about Tesla’s real-world testing methodology and marketing of its FSD feature.
In contrast, Waymo has leaned into regulatory cooperation and rigorous piloting. Its Waymo One service currently handles over 250,000 paid rides per week, using a fully driverless fleet in selected areas. The company also recently began similar test operations in New York City and is eyeing expansion into Washington, D.C., Miami, and Atlanta by 2026.
Despite its long lead in deployment, Waymo continues to weigh heavily on Alphabet’s balance sheet. In 2024, Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division — which includes Waymo — posted $1.65 billion in revenue, up slightly from the previous year. But losses deepened to $4.44 billion, raising questions among investors about the long-term viability of Alphabet’s autonomous ambitions.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s pitch to investors positions its robotaxi project as a profit engine that could generate billions in revenue through a self-driving fleet-as-a-service model, potentially displacing Uber and Lyft.
Waymo’s expansion to Philadelphia could be seen as a sign that it is accelerating its rollout to beat competitors like Tesla. However, technological and consumer acceptance challenges are still ahead, underlining that the battle for control of the robotaxi future is only just beginning.
As the rollout continues, user experience will tell which company has the better software, and which can best navigate the regulatory, logistical, and public trust hurdles required to put self-driving cars on America’s roads — without a safety driver.