Robotaxi Frenzy: Zoox and Waymo Expand Services Amid Tesla Event

Amazon's (AMZN) Zoox and Alphabet's (GOOGL) Waymo are expanding their robotaxi services into additional markets as competition heats up. Zoox will start testing its service in Houston and San Diego with human drivers on board, while Waymo is now providing paid driverless rides in San Diego, Tampa, and Denver.

Zoox's expansion brings it to 12 U.S. markets, with the company initially using retrofitted test vehicles for manual mapping before progressing to its purpose-built, driverless robotaxis.

Waymo's expansion into these cities brings its fully autonomous ride service to 14 locations, with over 500,000 robotaxi rides per week in the U.S. and a goal of surpassing 1 million by the end of this year.