PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Waymo is about to get a big competitor in the Valley!<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Tesla announced that Phoenix was one of seven cities slated to launch its self-driving \u201cRobotaxi\u201d service<\/a> in the first half of 2026. Other cities reportedly in the works include Dallas, Miami and Las Vegas. <\/p>\n Currently, the service is operating in Austin, Texas, unsupervised, but a \u201csafety driver\u201d must be monitoring the ride in San Francisco.<\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s Family previously reported that Tesla got the green light in September 2025<\/a> to test the self-driving cars, then got a Transportation Network Company permit<\/a>, which allows the vehicles to operate with a safety driver, while an additional certification is needed for the cars to operate without a driver.<\/p>\n Autonomous vehicle companies are required to follow a self-certification process and all stringent federal laws, regulations and guidelines set by the Arizona Department of Transportation<\/a> specifically for driverless cars.<\/p>\n Tesla\u2019s Robotaxi service is a direct competitor<\/a> to the autonomous Waymo rideshare service,<\/a> owned by Google\u2019s parent company Alphabet, which first hit Phoenix roads in 2018.<\/p>\n Waymo currently has over 1,500 driverless cars operating in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, providing more than 250,000 trips each week across its four markets. The company plans to expand to Atlanta, Miami and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n