According to Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt), Waymo currently operates approximately 2,500 vehicles, delivering around 450,000 rides weekly with fully autonomous capabilities and no human safety monitors (source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter). Waymo's ongoing expansion in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles highlights the company’s scaling efforts and robust adoption of AI-driven autonomous ride-hailing technology. Tesla, meanwhile, continues to develop its Full Self-Driving (FSD) platform, although as of June 2024, Tesla has not yet launched a fully autonomous commercial robotaxi service without human oversight (source: Tesla 2024 Q2 Earnings Call). For businesses and investors, the rapid deployment of AI-powered robotaxi fleets by Waymo and the anticipated entry of Tesla into this space offers substantial market opportunities in urban mobility, logistics, and smart city solutions. The trend toward fully driverless vehicles also signals growing demand for AI talent, advanced sensor integration, and regulatory compliance solutions in the autonomous driving sector.

According to Sawyer Merritt citing Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas, Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology is considered sufficiently advanced to remove safety drivers at scale in major metropolitan areas, particularly in Texas, where no additional regulatory approval is required (source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter, Oct 27, 2025). Tesla’s reliance on a passive optical-only AV system, rejecting radar and LIDAR, challenges established robotaxi industry norms, potentially accelerating AI-driven mobility solutions. With 8 million vehicles and 12% FSD penetration, Tesla could achieve $1.2 billion in annualized Full Self-Driving (FSD) revenue with high margins, indicating significant recurring business potential and positioning Tesla as a leading player in the AI-powered mobility sector (source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter, Oct 27, 2025).