Former Waymo CEO Questions Tesla's Robotaxi: Pseudo Autonomous Ride-hailing

Krafcik

Sina Tech News, Beijing Time, August 18th. According to Commercial Insider, former Waymo CEO John Krafcik expressed skepticism towards Tesla's Robotaxi, considering it not a true autonomous ride-hailing service.

Krafcik served as Waymo CEO from 2015 to 2021 and was instrumental in transforming the company into a commercial autonomous ride-hailing business. He currently sits on the board of Rivian, Tesla's rival.

This July, Tesla launched its Robotaxi trial program, which requires a human safety operator to sit behind the wheel and monitor the vehicle in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since Tesla has not applied for permission to test and deploy fully autonomous ride-hailing services in California, it is still necessary to have a human operator.

Krafcik said that if Tesla only provides ride-hailing services, then they have achieved that. "If they want to recreate the Uber experience in today's Bay Area, it looks like they've done just that," he said in an email to Commercial Insider.

However, Krafcik believes that Tesla's service is not a true autonomous ride-hailing service because there must still be a Tesla employee monitoring the vehicle.

"Wait until Tesla launches its true autonomous ride-hailing service and tell me then. I'm still waiting," he said in an interview with Commercial Insider. "If there's still someone inside, it's clearly not an autonomous ride-hailing service."

Krafcik also stated that he has no intention of experiencing Tesla's Robotaxi.

Notably, Waymo started its autonomous ride-hailing service in Arizona in 2017, with some similarities to Tesla's approach. At the time, Waymo launched what it called an "early rider program," allowing a small group of people to test its service. The vehicle had a safety driver, and passengers were temporarily required to sign confidentiality agreements.

As of publication, spokespeople for Tesla and Waymo have not commented on this matter. (Author/ Xiao Yu)