Robotaxi companies must do more to prove safety, Waymo co-CEO says

Waymo co-CEO Takedra Mawakana believes different companies moving connected autonomous vehicles request to bash much to beryllium their exertion is safe, she said during an interrogation astatine TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.

Mawakana had conscionable been asked who she considered to beryllium connected the database of companies trying to marque roads safer during Monday’s interview.

“I don’t cognize who’s connected that list, due to the fact that they’re not telling america what’s happening with their fleets,” she said.

Prioritizing information portion scaling operations was a large taxable during the interview, and Mawakana was definite to mention the data Waymo precocious released that shows, by its count, that the company’s vehicles are 5 times safer than quality drivers and 12 times safer with respect to pedestrians.

Mawakana declined to accidental whether she was specifically talking astir Tesla, but determination are lone a fewer companies successful the U.S. close present claiming to beryllium moving connected robotaxi tech.

Tesla publishes quarterly “vehicle information reports.” But that information lone focuses connected the usage of the company’s Autopilot operator assistance technology, which is designed to beryllium utilized connected highways, wherever the complaint of crashes is little than connected aboveground streets. (And the latest study shows an uptick successful crashes.) Tesla has not released immoderate nationalist information astir the information of its nascent robotaxi aviator programme successful Austin, Texas.

Other companies successful the abstraction are aboriginal successful the deployment signifier oregon inactive investigating their technology. Zoox has lone conscionable begun offering rides successful its purpose-built AV successful Las Vegas, Nevada. Companies similar May Mobility and Pony AI person yet to motorboat commercially successful the U.S. Aurora, the self-driving trucks company, has published a information framework.

“I deliberation determination is simply a responsibility, if you’re going to enactment vehicles connected the road, and you’re going to region the operator from down the wheel, and you’re going to person idiosyncratic successful immoderate different country observing the fleet who tin instrumentality implicit their vehicles, it is incumbent upon you to beryllium transparent astir what’s happening,” she said. “And if you are not being transparent, past it is my presumption that you are not doing what is indispensable successful bid to really gain the close to marque the roadworthy safer.”