Uber, Waymo and Tesla Speed Toward Driverless Future

Tesla, Uber, and Waymo are racing to dominate the driverless vehicle market. Tesla recently unveiled its fully autonomous robotaxi, the Cybercab, in Austin, Texas, after deploying around 50 of the vehicles on city streets. Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco stated that Wall Street will likely need to see more than a handful of Cybercabs before showing interest.

Meanwhile, Uber is downsizing its workforce by 10%, or 3,300 employees, to focus on innovation for autonomous vehicles, including a commitment of over $10 billion to robotaxi partnerships. Waymo, led by Uber's former self-driving car unit, is raising debt for the first time to finance expansion into several US cities and the rollout of its new Ojai minivan.

Goldman Sachs Research estimates that robotaxis could reach 1 million on the road by 2030 and 6 million by 2035, potentially creating $440 billion in economic disruption.