Waymo has demonstrated impressive expansion of its robotaxi service, expanding from just three cities in September 2024 to fifteen US cities today, with weekly ridership now averaging 500,000 paid rides. Whilst the geographic reach and ridership figures appear expansive, a closer examination of fleet distribution reveals that the company is concentrating roughly 80 per cent of its approximately 4,000 vehicles in just two states: California and Texas. This expansion matters because it represents the first real commercial test of autonomous vehicle profitability at scale, though the concentrated deployment highlights the selective nature of Waymo's rollout strategy.

Texas has emerged as the focal point of Waymo's current growth, with the state's fleet surging 49 per cent in just the past three weeks—reaching 1,102 registered vehicles as of 24 September. This acceleration has been driven largely by the introduction of Waymo's new "Ojai" robotaxi, a Chinese-manufactured minivan based on Zeekr's platform (Zeekr is owned by China's Geely Holding Group), which now comprises approximately one-third of the Texas fleet and is expected to grow further. The Ojai is equipped with Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous driving system and Google's Gemini AI assistant, and is designed to reduce costs and help the company achieve profitability, though current US tariffs are offsetting anticipated savings.