In the race for autonomous driving, two key metrics stand out: fleet size and service coverage. Tesla and Waymo are both pushing forward, but their strategies are vastly different.
Tesla has placed greater emphasis on expanding its service areas for Robotaxi, while cautiously growing its fleet to maintain safety standards. Waymo, on the other hand, has chosen the opposite path—rapidly scaling up its number of vehicles while steadily broadening its service footprint.
According to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Waymo now has 1,429 vehicles operating in California, with 875 linked to a terminal in San Francisco. Just this past March, the total was only 1,087 vehicles, 762 of which were based in San Francisco (including both testing and ride-hailing cars).
Beyond simply increasing its fleet size, Waymo has also been steadily widening its service area. Most recently, the company expanded its geofenced zone in Austin, Texas, to 90 square miles—briefly surpassing Tesla. However, Tesla quickly regained the lead earlier this week by extending its Robotaxi coverage to 170 square miles.
Waymo and Tesla take very different paths toward self-driving technology. Waymo uses LiDAR, while Tesla depends entirely on cameras. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has been clear about which method he considers the better route to autonomy.
With both fleet size and coverage rapidly increasing, the battle for driverless supremacy is entering a new phase. The distinct strategies of Waymo and Tesla may determine which company reaches large-scale profitability first.