Fully autonomous cars have been in the works for a long time, but have only recently made a meaningful impact on the world.
Waymo is arguably the most successful brand with its fleet of ‘robotaxis’ operating across a number of US cities, conducting more than 400,000 rides per week in vehicles without a driver.
Of course, Tesla is likely best known more broadly for its so-called ‘Full Self-Driving’ technology, which was subject to years of delays before slowly being introduced in a number of markets including Australia, with the caveat that drivers must be prepared to take control at all times.
While Tesla last year unveiled the Cybercab – a two-seat driverless vehicle – and has started to conduct supervised robotaxi trials in the US, it’s far from producing the same level of coverage as the likes of Waymo, though it has fared better than former General Motors brand Cruise which shut down following multiple incidents.
Speaking to Automotive News, former Waymo CEO John Krafcik – now a board member with EV brand Rivian – criticised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for the latter’s numerous autonomous vehicle timeline claims.
“It’s been 10 years, that’s a decade of broken promises. There should be some accountability for that, I believe,” Krafcik said, reportedly naming Musk directly.
“We went through the hype cycle and so many companies crashed and burned and there are now so few left.
“Proudly, I can say Waymo is one of them. We knew it was going to be a lot. We knew this was a marathon and not a sprint.”
Despite Waymo’s lead in the robotaxi market, Krafcik admitted advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are becoming more widely available to the average new-car buyer, and more advanced.
“The idea that we’ll have personal robotaxis in our driveway in two years is silly,” Krafcik said. “However, ADAS, assisted driving systems are getting much better and I really like that.”
It’s worth noting that both Waymo’s robotaxis and Tesla’s ADAS systems – marketed as Autopilot and the more capable Full Self-Driving – have both been investigated by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for multiple incidents.
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