Waymo is scaling fast: Here's what the fleet data shows
TechCrunch ● Covered by 2 sources
Waymo’s robotaxis are now in 15 U.S. cities, and ridership is hitting 500,000 paid rides a week. But most of its 4,000 cars are still packed into California and Texas.
Based on reporting by TechCrunch — read the original for the full story.
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Waymo’s robotaxi business is growing fast on paper. In September 2024, it was in just three cities: Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Now it says service is live in 15 U.S. cities, and most of those launches happened over the past year. Weekly paid rides have climbed to 500,000. That is a serious commercial run-up, not a lab demo with nicer branding.
The catch is that the fleet is not spreading evenly. About 80% of Waymo’s roughly 4,000 robotaxis are in California and Texas. The remaining vehicles are scattered across other states, including Arizona and Florida. So yes, the footprint is wider than it was. But the real concentration is still in just two places, which tells you where Waymo thinks the business can actually scale right now.
Texas is the sharpest example. Waymo has increased its Texas fleet by 49% in the past three weeks, according to state registrations and the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker. As of September 24, it had 1,102 autonomous vehicles registered there. The company first launched commercial service in Austin through Uber in March 2025, then added Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. After sitting relatively flat through most of the summer, the Texas fleet jumped in September.
A lot of that jump comes from a new minivan Waymo calls Ojai. It is a modified Zeekr RT, built on Zeekr’s SEA-M platform and fitted out at Waymo’s Arizona factory after arriving in the U.S. without Chinese connected-car tech. Waymo says the vehicle should help it reach mass scale and lower costs. Tariffs are making that harder for now, since China-built vehicles face steep import duties. MoffettNathanson said in September that Waymo is on track to bring 5,100 of the vehicles into the U.S. by year-end. Texas is likely to get plenty of them, with Florida and newer markets like Las Vegas also in line.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is the classic Waymo move: impressive expansion, then the fine print says the business is still clustered where the company already has a head start. The Ojai is supposed to be the cost-cutting answer, but tariffs are doing what tariffs do — turning neat scaling plans into expensive reality.
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