The robotaxi wars heat up
Dates to remember
- CoMotion GLOBAL in Riyadh on Dec. 7-9: Register now and get your complimentary pass, limited spaces available! Senior public officials, accredited media, and other key stakeholders are invited to register here for a complimentary ticket. Registrations will be reviewed by our comittee.
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Remember when Elon said Tesla robotaxis were coming to California? Well, it looks like he’s settling for Arizona, putting him about five years behind chief rival Waymo. Meanwhile, Waymo is expanding its California footprint and readying commercial operations in Miami. And don’t forget about Zoox — the Amazon-backed startup is making some moves too.
Meanwhile, Joby becomes the second company to sue Archer over alleged trade secrets, proving the skies aren’t any less cutthroat than the streets. There are some interesting public sector moves too: the UK is eyeing a per-mile EV tax, French conservatives are backing pedestrian-first streets, and Mumbai is getting a sprawling 130-acre “green lung.”
What you need to know
Tesla goes to Arizona, eyeing Waymo’s turf: Tesla gets final regulatory approval to operate robotaxis in Arizona, where Waymo has been giving driverless rides for years. It is not yet clear when Tesla will launch the service in Arizona and what exactly its scope will be. So far it is only offering driverless ride-hailing in a part of Austin, Tex., with a safety monitor in the passenger seat. Elon Musk’s claims in July that it was on the cusp of operating robotaxis in California turned out to be unfounded.
Waymo goes driverless in Miami: The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company removes safety drivers in Miami in advance of launching full commercial operations there early next year. The company also announces that its service area in California has dramatically expanded following approval from state regulators. In addition to San Francisco and Los Angeles, it will soon be operating in Sacramento and San Diego.
Rethinking Urban Design with Josephine Yilan Liu
What might a city look like if it was designed for cognitive comfort, rather than efficiency or productivity? That’s the question asked by Josephine Yilan Liu, a ‘cognitive urbanist’ and founder of Transformative Cities, a framework and consulting practice that turns scientific insight into design tools—practical enough to guide small decisions, deep enough to reframe how we think about urban life. In this episode, host Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with Josephine to learn more about rethinking our cities from a holistic, cognitive perspective.
Zoox is for real this time: The Amazon-backed autonomous driving startup takes key steps towards becoming a full-fledged robotaxi operator in San Francisco. Like Waymo, it is easing into the game by inviting a certain number of people from its waiting list to get rides. Zoox is distinct in operating in purpose-built autonomous vehicles that lack steering wheels and pedals, freeing up space for more passengers.
Joby sues Archer: In a lawsuit filed in state court, Joby Aviation accuses fellow California eVTOL startup Archer Aviation of stealing trade secrets with the help of a former Joby employee. Archer firmly denies the allegations, accusing Joby of trying to “distract from its own shortcomings.” This is not Archer’s first rodeo — Wisk Aero, now a subsidiary of Boeing, similarly sued it for trade secrets theft in 2021. The two companies later settled.
Join the visionaries shaping transportation, technology, and urban innovation across every continent at CoMotion GLOBAL on Dec. 7-9 at the KAFD Conference Centre in Riyadh.
From global policymakers to urban innovators, these voices are shaping the next era of urban mobility — smarter, more sustainable, and more connected than ever before.
- Majid Mufti, CEO, NEOM Investment Fund
- Diana Caiza, Mayor, Municipality of Ambato
- Dr. Nasiphi Moya, Executive Mayor City of Tshwane
- Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO, ENSO
- Hashim Alfatayerji, Founder & CEO, Cararak Ventures
- Steve Adler, Former Mayor of Austin, Texas
Register now and get your complimentary pass, limited spaces available. Senior public officials, accredited media, and other key stakeholders are invited to register here for a complimentary ticket. Registrations will be reviewed by our comittee.
When conservatives battle against cars: In sharp contrast to their counterparts in the English-speaking world, conservative elected officials in French cities are embracing the types of pro-pedestrian, anti-car reforms that Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo has championed in Paris. Right-leaning cities like Nice have restricted cars to promote walking and biking. Among other things, politicians of all stripes seem to believe it makes economic sense to make their cities walking utopias.
A scrappy aluminum startup: Austin-based startup Sortera has developed an AI-driven system that it claims can sort scrap aluminum with over 95% accuracy—turning a long-standing recycling challenge into commercial opportunity. The company is already profitable with a plant running full-tilt in Indiana and is expanding to Tennessee after raising $45 million to scale and feed more certified aluminum back into the automotive supply chain. This could be a game-changer in recycling, which has long suffered from the time and expense involved in sorting valuable metal from mountains of waste.
UK consider per-mile EV tax: The UK government proposes a .03£-per-mile tax on electric vehicles starting in 2028 to plug a growing shortfall in motoring tax revenues. While it could raise around £375 million annually, some warn it risks discouraging EV adoption amid already fragile demand—even as the government boosts subsidies and charger funding in a bid to balance support with new costs.
A look at Mumbai’s massive “green lung”: India’s biggest city currently offers only 1.24 square meters of public space per person, compared to about 21.5 in capital New Delhi. In accordance with an Indian law requiring large companies to devote 2% of their earnings on public goods, conglomerate Reliance Industries, led by one of the country’s richest families, is building a 130-acre Coastal Road Garden. It envisions an immaculately maintained space, but an activist group is hoping it can be something more like an urban forest.
The sad saga of Baltimore’s rail expansion: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s pledge to revive a rail line that his predecessor killed is running into the hard political reality of state budget constraints and an anti-transit federal administration. It is a familiar tale of how hard it is to deliver new public transit in America.
What we’re reading
Why robotaxis won’t end personal car ownership: Our old friend Jonah Bliss at Curbivore argues that robotaxis won’t end personal car ownership. The evidence is all around us, he says. Other affordable car-sharing and ride-hailing options have emerged over the past 20 years, and during that time Americans have actually increased the number of cars they own.
