zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Driverless Waymo Rides Are Opening To The Public But Elon Musk Isn't So Impressed
Driverless Waymo Rides Are Opening To The Public But Elon Musk Isn't So Impressed-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:35

Image for article titled Driverless Waymo Rides Are Opening To The Public But Elon Musk Isn't So Impressed

Waymo has been giving rides in autonomous cars in Phoenix to invitees for almost two years now, but it said Thursday that it would open up the program to the general public. Which prompted Tesla CEO Elon Musk to chime in, for some reason.

Here are the pertinent details, :

Beginning today, October 8, we’re excited to open up our fully driverless offering to Waymo One riders. Members of the public service can now take friends and family along on their rides and share their experience with the world. We’ll start with those who are already a part of Waymo One and, over the next several weeks, welcome more people directly into the service through our app (available on Google Play and the App Store). In the near term, 100% of our rides will be fully driverless. We expect our new fully driverless service to be very popular, and we’re thankful to our riders for their patience as we ramp up availability to serve demand. Later this year, after we’ve finished adding in-vehicle barriers between the front row and the rear passenger cabin for in-vehicle hygiene and safety, we’ll also be re-introducing rides with a trained vehicle operator, which will add capacity and allow us to serve a larger geographical area.

Previously the Waymo-selected riders used the service under nondisclosure agreements, so it’ll be interesting to see what people self-report. Waymo claims the people under NDAs have said it is a “magical” experience.

This will all happen in a 50-square mile area that is geofenced, and only for the next several weeks, after which safety drivers will return and Waymo will double the size of the service area, .

But in this period of going exclusively driverless, “we will learn a lot about fully driverless service at scale, and that allows us additional clues on when we can open up the tap,” [Waymo CEO John Krafcik] said.

This is as good a reminder as any that if you take a ride with Waymo you are volunteering to be a guinea pig. But maybe that’s also part of the appeal!

Anyway, Waymo is very excited about all of this—a reference to Kitty Hawk is made in their press release—and it should be, being the consensus industry leaders in autonomous tech that it is. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a look at today’s news and shrugged, prompting the following response from Waymo:

Better was the shade in Waymo CEO John Krafcik’s response:

Krafcik one, Musk zero.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Subaru Had It Right All Along
Subaru Had It Right All Along
When first came to the United States, it sold small funky cars that were decidedly un-American. As the company grew its own identity and became more established in the U.S., it became the first automaker to offer an all-wheel-drive passenger car in 1975. Subaru was also an early-adopter of...
May 4, 2025
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I love tiny, of . I have a that is roughly half the size of a normal cat, and she’s perfect. I own a 2013 , which is like the miniature version of a normal-sized vehicle (at least here in Texas) — but beyond that, I also own a Hot...
May 4, 2025
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
closed its São Bernardo Plant in November 2023, marking the end of its first overseas production facility. The closure caps off a period of continuous car production in São Paolo, , lasting over 60 years. The plant was home to a Komatsu 700-ton press that predates itself. And now...
May 4, 2025
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I have two automotive loves: The first is the Miata, the second is off-road racing. For a while I raced air-cooled Volkswagens in the deserts of California and Nevada and I was lucky enough to co-drive in a class 11 stock bug in the Baja 1000 a few years...
May 4, 2025
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
At long last, we are about to get behind the wheel of for the first time. Sure, , and sure, , and sure , but hey — what can you do? Anyway, before we get behind the wheel of this three-row electric beast, we want to know what you...
May 4, 2025
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
MotorWeek’s is some of the on the internet. The long-running automotive news magazine has a treasure trove of tests after being on the air for over 40 years. Where else can you find detailed instrumented testing of long-forgotten cars like the or a ? MotorWeek’s recent Retro Review upload is...
May 4, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved