The race begins to make the world’s best self-driving cars

We are on the verge of the global arrival of self-driving cars. Next year, major firms from both the US and China will deploy their robotaxis to metropolises around the world, in major expansions of their existing operations. These companies are posturing in the press like male birds fighting for the same mate; the dance sets the stage for the global competition to come. On the US side, there’s Waymo, Google’s driverless venture. The company has invested billions of dollars in Waymo in the past 15 years. The company opened its robotaxi service to the public in June 2024 in San Francisco after years of testing and has been rolling it out steadily since. Now, vehicles are very visible in most of Los Angeles, and they are going to Washington DC, New York City and London next year.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/10/waymo-baidu-apollo-go-china-elon-musk-tesla