Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, operates part of its fleet of autonomous vehicles in California. Startups Apolo, AutoX, Nuro, WeRide, and Tesla Robotaxi and Zoox also operate in the state.
But with so many options, Californians may be getting autonomous vehicle fatigue.
Waymo quick facts:
- Founded in 2009.
- Passed the first U.S. state self-driving test in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2012. Source: IEEE Spectrum
- Spun out from Alphabet as a separate subsidiary in 2016.
- As of July 2025, Waymo One is available 24/7 to customers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
- The current Waymo fleet features over 1,500 vehicles. By 2026, the company expects to add 2,000 more.
According to Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety, nearly 80% of California voters support requiring a human safety operator in self-driving trucks and delivery vehicles, and just 33% of voters express a favorable general impression of autonomous vehicles.
Some Californians have even taken to sabotage…