Waymo widens its operational lead, opening robotaxi service to the public in Denver, San Diego and Tampa and adding scale to a fleet that now tops more than 4,000 vehicles. The Alphabet-owned company said it will invite riders gradually as it ramps up service in each market, following the cautious rollout pattern it has used across earlier launches.
The expansion brings both Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace hatchbacks and a new Zeekr-made minivan, the Ojai, into these cities. Waymo will offer the Ojai, pronounced oh-hi, as the only autonomous vehicle available to riders in Denver and San Diego. The company describes the Ojai as using its sixth-generation self-driving system and being cheaper to build, operate and maintain. That Ojai fleet is small for now, about 300 vehicles compared with its Jaguar I-Pace numbers, but Waymo plans to scale it quickly as it chases profitability alongside growth.
The move comes amid mounting competition from Tesla, which now charges for rides in driverless Tesla Model Y vehicles in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Tesla is also developing a purpose-built Cybercab, a two-seater with no steering wheel or pedals, as it seeks to accelerate its robotaxi ambitions.
Waymo’s current push began in earnest 18 months ago and builds on years of staged deployments. The company ran robotaxi service in Phoenix for years, then won the permits it needed in August 2023 to operate and charge for driverless rides in San Francisco. Expansion continued into Los Angeles in 2024, and Waymo opened its cars to riders in Austin in March 2025 through a partnership with Uber. Since then the company has launched paid robotaxi services in seven more cities, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, Orlando and San Antonio.
Regulation remains the gating factor for how quickly Waymo moves from invitation-only trips to broad paid service. Some states require multiple permits covering both deployment and the ability to charge customers, and local timelines shape each market’s opening. Nevada’s Transportation Authority last month approved a permit allowing Waymo to operate up to 1,000 autonomous vehicles in Clark County over the next year, a permit that was also granted to Tesla and Uber. Waymo is also planning robotaxi launches outside the U.S., with London and Munich on its roadmap.
Waymo’s playbook remains steady: map and test new territory, remove the human safety driver, invite employees and guests to trial the service, and only then begin taking paying riders where regulations permit. Next, the company will increase the Ojai fleet while monitoring regulatory approvals and competitor moves as it pursues a balance of scale and unit economics.
