Robotaxi Stories: Waymo Recalls, WeRide Expands, Uber Grows, And Tesla Pivots

Earlier in May, leading autonomous vehicle ride-hailer Waymo was gearing up to expand its services to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., by 2026. The company already offers over 250,000 autonomous trips each week across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.

Now, the company is recalling over 1,200 self-driving vehicles—1212 to be exact—to update software that can reduce the risk of collisions with chains, gates, and other barriers on roads.

The recall doesn’t affect all Waymo vehicles—totaling more than 1,500 self-driving vehicles—but affects those running its fifth-generation automated driving system software.

The move comes amid a probe by the United States’ NHTSA (Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) that questions Waymo’s self-driving capabilities and potential for violating traffic safety laws.

This includes incidents that “involved collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid.” Waymo said it was aware of 16 collisions with chains, gates, and other barriers that occurred from 2022 to 2024, something that Waymo said has been resolved with a software update.


From one “W” robotaxi provider to another.

WeRide, a global leader in autonomous driving technology, came out with a series of updates pertaining to its self-driving ride-hailing services.

Most recently, WeRide announced the launch of fully driverless Robotaxi trial operations in Abu Dhabi, meaning that the company’s vehicles will not include safety drivers. This marks the first deployment of its kind in the Middle East.

The move will also see WeRide extend the robotaxi service to Al Maryah Island, the city's financial hub, and Al Reem Island, a vibrant residential and lifestyle district. These extensions add to WeRide’s existing network—Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, and roads connecting Zayed International Airport—which goes back to 2021.

“WeRide makes history as the first company to pilot fully driverless Robotaxis in the Middle East region, showcasing our autonomous leadership in one of the world's most dynamic urban environments,” said Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International at WeRide.


China-based WeRide also introduced eight autonomous Robotaxi pilot operation routes in central Guangzhou.

The move brings in China's first 24/7 full-day, all-weather autonomous ride-hailing network that covers the central areas of a Tier 1 city, covering key landmarks such as the Canton Tower, the Canton Fair Complex, Garden Hotel, Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, and Guangzhou South Railway Station.

While the services operate 24 hours a day, next-day rides (after 12 pm) become available for booking from 6 pm the previous evening on the WeRide Go app.

With a presence in over 30 cities across 10 countries and a fleet size of over 1,000 vehicles, the company boasts more than 2,000 days of public operations and a flawless safety record with no active safety incidents, having established its first paid autonomous ride-hailing service in Guangzhou in 2019.


Keeping to the theme of expansions, WeRide and Uber, the world’s largest mobility and delivery platform, announced the two were building on their existing partnership by expanding autonomous ride-hailing services to 15 more cities globally—including Europe—over the next five years.

The previous arrangement included making WeRide’s autonomous vehicles available on Uber’s platform, which began with the United Arab Emirates, which included Abu Dhabi and Dubai (upcoming).

“Expanding into new cities across multiple continents reflects both companies’ confidence in our technology and our shared commitment to innovative, sustainable transportation solutions,” said Tony Han, Founder and CEO of WeRide. “This expansion aligns with WeRide’s ambitious strategy for global growth–to make autonomous driving solutions more affordable and accessible to people worldwide.”

The deal between the two will see the introduction of WeRide-powered autonomous vehicles to several new cities each year, all outside of the US and China. Here, the services will be available through the Uber app, and Uber will be responsible for fleet operations.


Uber is also all about expansion.

The ride-hailing service platform has signed deals with Volkswagen to deploy thousands of all-electric, fully autonomous vehicles across the U.S. over the next decade, BYD to bring 100,000 new BYD EVs onto its platform globally), and May Mobility to deploy thousands of AVs on the Uber platform over the next few years among other agreements.

At its Go-Get 2025 event, the company revealed a slew of new services to ease the everyday lives of its customers.

Shared Autonomous Rides combines transportation that is electric, shared, and autonomous—three things the company feels will be key in the future. This is where the VW partnership comes in.

Route Share includes pickups every 20 minutes along busy corridors during weekday commute hours with up to two co-riders, marking its most affordable ride offering yet. It comes with fares up to 50% cheaper than an UberX. Uber is also looking to partner with employers to further enhance this experience.

Ride Passes consists of two plans: The $2.99/month Price Lock Pass allows riders to lock in a price for a specific route and save up to $50 per month; and Prepaid Pass sees a customer pay upfront for 5, 10, 15, or 20 rides on regular routes to gain deeper discounts. The more a customer buys upfront, the more they save. 

Uber also spoke about AI-powered Commute Alerts that notify users when it's the best time to request rides and new benefits across Uber, Uber Eats, and partner services, especially through the company’s first-ever Uber One Member Days.


Tesla is another automaker trying to enter the robotaxi sector.

The company also had deals in place to refurbish and repurpose leased vehicles as robotaxis, disallowing customers to purchase vehicles after their lease agreements ended. This policy stood in place for Model 3 leases starting in 2019 and went on to include Model Y and other models.

This policy was revised in November 2024, enabling lease buyouts.

However, Tesla doesn’t currently hold a fleet of robotaxis and doesn’t have the out-of-lease vehicles stored anywhere. So, where did it go?

Instead, Tesla has been upgrading the software on these vehicles and sold them to new customers who would pay thousands of dollars more than those who would lease them, according to four people familiar with Tesla’s retail options.

Naturally, the revelation drew outrage from previous leasers who accused Tesla of misleading them, while Tesla still tries desperately to not just enter the robotaxi lane but also perfect self-driving capabilities in its existing vehicles.

Do you think Waymo’s faltering software will provide WeRide with inroads into the US market? Do you think Uber’s expansion plans will help it capture the top spot among ride-hailing platforms? What do you think about Tesla’s policy pivots?

Let us know in the comments below!