Companies including Alphabet's Waymo, Tesla, and five other autonomous vehicle firms are racing to deploy operational services across dozens of U.S. cities.

Autonomous taxis are rapidly expanding throughout major American metropolitan areas. Morgan Stanley estimates that within three years, approximately half of the U.S. population will have access to self-driving ride-hailing services.

After nearly a decade characterized by initial hype, a subsequent industry downturn, and a recent resurgence, autonomous taxis are now becoming operational in a growing number of U.S. cities. Currently, Waymo, Tesla, Zoox, and several lesser-known autonomous driving companies have deployed vehicles on the streets of California, Texas, and other states.

The industry boom in the 2010s spawned dozens of highly-valued startups that promised to disrupt private car ownership. However, exorbitant research and development costs, the technical challenges of navigating complex urban environments, and a stringent regulatory landscape led to the failure of many startups. Several high-profile safety incidents have also subjected the safety of autonomous vehicles to increased scrutiny.

Morgan Stanley forecasts that around 50% of the U.S. population will be able to use autonomous taxi services within the next three years. The firm projects rapid growth in U.S. autonomous ride bookings: approximately 15 million orders in 2025, increasing to about 36 million this year. By 2030, the volume of rides is anticipated to approach 750 million.

Some companies are choosing to build and operate their services independently, while others are seeking deep-pocketed partners or leveraging existing platforms like Uber to launch their offerings.

Here is the current operational status and expansion plans for key players in the autonomous vehicle sector in the United States:

**Alphabet's Waymo** Operational Status: Open to the general public for passenger service. Fleet Size: 3,000 vehicles. Current Cities / Expansion Plans: Currently operational with plans for expansion. Rides can be booked via the Uber app in Austin and the Atlanta area.

Waymo is currently the leader in the autonomous taxi industry, leading peers in both the number of operational cities and vehicles deployed. In some markets, Waymo vehicles are already permitted to drive on highways and handle airport transfers. The core of Waymo's fleet consists of Jaguar electric vehicles, and the company is also testing a new custom-built model, an electric van named "Ojai." According to company data, Waymo vehicles completed 500,000 rides in March of this year; this compares to just 10,000 rides in its first month of paid service in San Francisco in 2023.

**Tesla Motors** Operational Status: Open to the general public for passenger service. Fleet Size: Approximately 600 vehicles. Current Cities / Expansion Plans: Currently operational with plans for expansion. Note: Vehicles operating in San Francisco still have safety drivers present.

Tesla is one of the most closely watched companies in the autonomous driving sector. CEO Elon Musk has boldly predicted that the large-scale deployment of millions of autonomous Teslas will fundamentally transform societal transportation and reshape the company's prospects. The development of an autonomous taxi network is a core strategy for Tesla's transition from a traditional automaker to a multi-trillion-dollar artificial intelligence and robotics company. Tesla does not officially disclose the size of its autonomous taxi fleet; however, industry data platform Robotaxi Tracker estimates that approximately 600 Tesla vehicles provided autonomous passenger services in the past 30 days. Currently, Tesla's paid ride service is only available in Texas. Musk has stated that the company is proceeding cautiously for safety reasons and plans to expand the service to at least 12 states this year.

**Amazon.com's Zoox** Operational Status: Awaiting regulatory approval. Fleet Size: 100 vehicles prepared for deployment. Current Cities / Expansion Plans: Planned deployment. Note: Rides are intended to be bookable via the Uber app in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Zoox, founded in 2014, was one of the autonomous driving startups of its era. After facing funding challenges, it was acquired by Amazon.com for approximately $1.2 billion in 2020. Unlike Waymo and Tesla, Zoox does not modify mass-produced passenger cars. Instead, it has built a custom, square-shaped dedicated autonomous vehicle featuring sliding doors, a subway-like seating arrangement, and no steering wheel. This design requires a specific exemption from federal motor vehicle standards to operate legally on public roads. Zoox is currently awaiting regulatory approval and has not yet launched a paid passenger service.

**Uber** Operational Status: Open to the general public for passenger service. Fleet Size: 300 vehicles through partnerships. Current Cities / Expansion Plans: Ongoing partnership-based expansion. Note: Users can book rides in autonomous vehicles from Waymo, Zoox, and other platforms via the Uber app.

After selling its own autonomous driving unit in 2020, Uber shifted its strategy. It no longer develops its own self-driving vehicles but instead partners with external companies, using equity investments and bulk vehicle purchases to participate in the sector. This has altered Uber's traditionally asset-light business model as an aggregator platform. Uber has partnered with dozens of automakers and autonomous service providers, including Waymo, Zoox, Moia, and Motional. It recently signed agreements with electric vehicle makers Rivian and Lucid to purchase tens of thousands of new energy vehicles.

**Volkswagen's Moia** Operational Status: Testing with human safety drivers. Fleet Size: 30 vehicles. Current Cities / Expansion Plans: Currently testing only in Austin, with no immediate commercial launch plans.

Moia is an autonomous driving subsidiary of the German Volkswagen Group, established in 2016 with the initial goal of countering the disruptive threat of tech newcomers to the traditional private car industry. Its vehicle is based on the Volkswagen ID.Buzz electric van, with a design that pays homage to the classic VW Microbus. Moia is conducting road tests and plans to launch services in Los Angeles via the Uber app and in Orlando via the Beep platform by 2026. The company aims to expand its fleet to approximately 100 vehicles by early next year.

**Hyundai's Motional** Operational Status: Open to the general public for passenger service. Fleet Size: 200 vehicles. Current Cities / Expansion Plans: Currently operational with plans for expansion. Note: Aims to expand its Las Vegas fleet to over 200 vehicles by the end of 2026.

Motional is the autonomous driving division of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group. It has been conducting road tests in Las Vegas since 2021. In March of this year, Motional officially launched a paid autonomous taxi service in Las Vegas, accessible through the Uber booking channel. Currently, vehicles are equipped with safety drivers, with plans to launch a fully driverless service by the end of 2026. The company is also testing vehicles in Pittsburgh but has not yet announced commercial plans for that city. Motional's autonomous vehicles are modified versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car, assembled at Hyundai's factory in Singapore.

**Nuro** Operational Status: Road testing phase. Fleet Size: 100 vehicles.

Nuro was founded in 2016 by two former engineers from Google's self-driving car project. Its first product was a compact, toaster-shaped autonomous vehicle focused on automatic delivery of groceries and packages. The company has raised approximately $2.3 billion from investors, including Uber and SoftBank. In 2025, Nuro partnered with Uber and luxury EV manufacturer Lucid to jointly develop an autonomous taxi. Under the agreement, Uber will purchase 35,000 Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro's hardware and software systems, with deployment planned for dozens of cities worldwide by 2032. The partners have begun road testing and expect to launch the first commercial service in San Francisco and surrounding areas this year.