Tesla Robotaxi: who are its main competitors?

Tesla is set to unveil its Robotaxi, a fully autonomous vehicle that will allow users to ride as if it were a taxi, without the need for a driver. Although there are not many details about it, this car promises to be a revolution in the field of autonomous driving. But Tesla may be having a tough time for one reason: its competitors..

Just because Tesla has robot taxi competitorsand they may be even more advanced than the company model founded and led by Elon Musk. Partly because many of them have been working on this type of vehicle for years. There are even useful prototypes circulating on some US streets. Moreover, its competitors are technology multinationals with large teams solely responsible for developing this type of technology.

These companies Google, Amazon, General Engines and China Baiduand their bets are more than interesting.

Google Waymo One: Tesla’s biggest robotaxi competitor

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has a company called Waymo (formerly known simply as the Google Autonomous Vehicle Project), which researches and develops autonomous vehicles, and already has the first robotaxi: Waymo One. In fact, this is the world’s first autonomous vehicle designed for passenger transportation.

For now, He operates in San Francisco and Phoenix. (USA), and anyone can order it through a special app (although there is a waiting list). Google’s robotaxi service is also available 24 hours a day.

Google Robotaxi works thanks to a series LiDAR sensors, cameras and radars located throughout the vehicle. They are able to detect any element on the road, be it signs, speed limits, pedestrians, traffic lights, etc. It recognizes them thanks to a simulation learning system as well as road data collection.

Zoox by Amazon

In 2020, Amazon bought Zoox and introduced its first robotaxi, its eponymous brand, which stands out for its bidirectionality and it can accommodate up to four passengers. This is a big vehicle. In fact, his interior is almost the same height as a person.

Like Google’s robotaxi, Zoox is also equipped with various sensors and cameras that always recognize the road conditions and allow you to have a hassle-free ride. Although this car was announced in 2020, It wasn’t until 2023 that it made its first trip on public roads.. It’s not possible to rent rides at the moment, but Amazon hopes to be able to roll out a robotaxi service in cities very soon.

General Motors also has its own robotaxi.

The American company General Motors has a special brand of robotaxi called Cruise, as well as an autonomous car called Cruise. While its design isn’t as sophisticated as Google’s or Amazon’s, GM’s vehicle has reached more cities than any other, including Dallas, Houston and Phoenix. And it served not only to transport passengers, but also goods – more precisely, purchases through Walmart in the capital of Arizona.

Now, The cruise service has been closed since October 2023.. The company confirmed a pause in the possibility of ordering robotaxis in order to “restore confidence in regulators” and improve the safety of these vehicles.

Baidu doesn’t want to be left behind

Chinese Baidu also has robotaxis, which competes with Google in the Asian market. Called RT6and has Level 4 autonomous driving, meaning it can be driven without a passenger. Not only does it have an attractive design, but it also works thanks to an artificial intelligence system called Apollo ADFM which is capable of collecting and interpreting data to operate the driving system.

The company claims that the RT6 already has 100 million kilometers of experience behind it. The price of the car is also relatively low compared to other electric cars: 204,600 yuan, which in return is about 26,000 euros. Baidu hopes to create robotaxi service will start working at the end of this yearMore than 1,000 RT7s ply the streets of Wuhan.