Waymo's 10 Million Rides: Tesla's Autopilot Strategy Under Pressure?

In 2019, Elon Musk dismissed lidar and Waymo. Fast forward to 2024, and Waymo's driverless taxi service has surpassed 10 million rides, doubling its trips in just months. Conversely, Tesla's robotaxi service is launching with a mere 10 vehicles. The author argues Waymo's focus on densely populated urban areas, leveraging lidar and other technologies, has yielded significant progress. Tesla's approach may be too aggressive, overlooking the 80/20 rule of city driving—solving the last 20% of self-driving might require 80% of the effort. Waymo's success suggests a steady, controlled market approach might be more effective than striving for all-scenario coverage in the autonomous driving field.