Waymo, the self-driving startup owned by Google parent company Alphabet, has been approved by a California agency to expand operations to Los Angeles, after previously only serving the city of San Francisco within the state.
On Friday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved Waymo’s recent request to expand to the Southern California city, though a few counties and other groups in the state have submitted protests. Still, effective on March 1, Waymo can operate driverless ride-hailing operations in Los Angeles, as well as to additional areas of the San Francisco Peninsula.
“CPED approves Waymo’s updated PSP and authorizes expansion of Waymo’s Driverless Deployment service to the areas of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula it has requested,” the agency wrote in the letter. “Waymo may begin fared driverless passenger service operations in the specified areas of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula, effective today.”
According to the letter detailing the approval and statements from the state’s Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division (CPED), the agency received 81 supportive responses from state counties and other organizations, while it received protests from the following five municipalities and groups:
- City of South San Francisco
- County of San Mateo
- Los Angeles Department of Transportation
- San Francisco County Transportation Authority
- San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance
“We’re grateful to the CPUC for this vote of confidence in our operations, which paves the way for the deployment of our commercial Waymo One service in LA and the SF Peninsula,” the company wrote on X on Friday. “This wouldn’t be possible without the ongoing support of our riders, community partners, and policymakers. We can’t wait to bring the benefits of the Waymo Driver to more riders in more places!”
You can see the full CPUC letter approving Waymo’s LA expansion below, along with the proposed expansion areas that have been approved below that.
Credit: Waymo Credit: Waymo
In Arizona, Waymo recently expanded its driverless testing operations to include highways around Phoenix, expected to make ride times significantly shorter for passengers. In both states, the company operates Jaguar I-Pace vehicles equipped with several sensors to perform driverless rides.
Last month, California Senator Dave Cortese also introduced a bill that could create more barriers for Waymo and other companies trying to expand self-driving operations. The bill, dubbed SB 915, aims to give local municipalities more power in deciding where driverless vehicles can operate in their own communities, which could limit further expansion efforts or approved operation areas.
Waymo has also faced some criticism in downtown San Francisco, where it was approved to operate driverless vehicles for 24 hours a day in August. Protests against the company started last year with pedestrians placing a safety cone on the hood of Waymo vehicles, which would sometimes stop the vehicles from operating. At the time, the group responsible, called Safe Street Rebel, said that it expected such protests to become more commonplace.
Last month, a group of people surrounded a Waymo robotaxi and began vandalizing it, eventually setting the vehicle on fire by lighting fireworks off inside of it. In response to the incident, Waymo said the driverless vehicle “was not transporting any riders and no injuries have been reported,” adding that the company was “working closely with local safety officials to respond to the situation.”
Waymo driverless robotaxi attacked and set on fire in San Francisco
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.
Investor's Corner
Tesla ‘Model Q’ gets bold prediction from Deutsche Bank that investors will love
Tesla’s Model Q could be on the way soon, and a new note from Deutsche Bank thinks it will contribute to Q4 deliveries.
The Tesla “Model Q” has been in the rumor mill for the company for several years, but a recent note from Wall Street firm Deutsche Bank seems to indicate that it could be on its way in the near future.
This comes as Tesla has been indicating for several quarters that its development of affordable models was “on track” for the first half of 2025. The company did not say it would unveil the vehicles in the first half, but many are anticipating that more cost-friendly models could be revealed to the public soon.
Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas
The Deutsche Bank note refers to one of the rumored affordable models as the “Model Q,” but we’ve also seen it referred to as the “Model 2,” amongst other names. Tesla has not officially coined any of its upcoming vehicles as such, but these are more of a universally accepted phrase to identify them, at least for now.
The rumors stem from sentiments regarding Tesla’s 2025 delivery projections, which are tempered as the company seeks to maintain a steady pace compared to 2023 and 2024, when it reported 1.8 million deliveries.
Deutsche Bank’s analysts believe the deliveries could be around 1.58 million, but they state this is a cautious stance that could be impacted by several things, including the potential launch of the Model Q, which they believe will make its way to market in Q4:
“Looking at the rest of the year, we maintain a cautious stance on volume calling for 1.58m vehicle deliveries (-12% YoY) vs. consensus +1.62m, with the timing of Model Q rollout as the key swing factor (we now assume only 25k in Q4). In China, Tesla will introduce the Model Y L this fall (6 inch longer wheel base allowing for larger 3-row seating with six seats).”
Interestingly, the same firm also predicted that the Model Q would launch in the first half of the year based on a note that was released in early December 2024.
Those estimations came from a reported meeting that Deutsche Bank had with Tesla late last year, where it said it aimed to launch the Model Q for less than $30,000 and aimed for it to compete with cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin.
Tesla’s Q2 Earnings Call is slated for this Wednesday and could reveal some additional details about the affordable models.
Elon Musk
Tesla preps to expand Robotaxi geofence once again, answering Waymo
Just days after Waymo responded to them, Tesla is preparing for a potentially massive expansion of the Robotaxi geofence.
Tesla is preparing to expand its Robotaxi geofence yet again, just days after Waymo responded to its initial broadening of the area.
Tesla launched its first expansion last week, less than a month after introducing Robotaxi rides in Austin.
The company opted for a very interesting shape for its geofence expansion, which was more of an indication that it could launch more rides in virtually any area of the city due to the new geofence it chose.
Waymo then responded to Tesla shortly after with an expansion of its own. After Tesla’s first expansion of its geofence, it had 42 square miles of Robotaxi-accessible travel region. This was larger than Waymo’s 37 square miles.
However, the Waymo expansion last week brought the company to a substantial 90 square miles of Austin:
Waymo responds to Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion in Austin with bold statement
Tesla appears to be ready to respond. Drone operator and Gigafactory Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer spotted Tesla Robotaxi validation vehicles well west of downtown Austin in the area of Marble Falls, Texas.
This would significantly increase Tesla’s square mileage if it could manage to bring its geofence to that size:
🚨 We could see Tesla’s response to Waymo’s expansion in Austin very soon
Based on Tesla’s expansion last time, it’s safe to assume they can go to any area of Austin whenever they choose
It’s not a coincidence they chose, well, you know, the shape they did 🤣 https://t.co/xB92SQ1ntC
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 19, 2025
The two companies are not directly responding to one another with these expansions, but it appears that there is a significant amount of competition underway, which ultimately benefits the consumers.
Waymo has been operating in Texas since March from a fully public perspective, while Tesla is still slowly expanding its test size for the Robotaxi fleet on a nearly daily basis. Tesla launched Robotaxi rides to a handful of Early Access Program members on June 22.
Tesla is also expanding to other regions of the United States, particularly in Arizona and California. However, the Texas expansion is a priority currently, as it is the only region where Tesla has received approval to operate passenger rides in a driverless setting in the country.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger
More details continue to be revealed about the Tesla Supercharger Diner as its opening seems to be imminent.
Elon Musk has confirmed a few new features that will be present at the Tesla Diner Supercharger in Los Angeles.
Musk confirmed these two new details as he revealed he recently ate at the Supercharger Diner. We also recently confirmed a few menu items as a soft launch has already occurred, and a public launch date appears to be within reach.
The new features were revealed by Tesla Joy on X. We shared the details, and Musk confirmed that these are, in fact, features of the Diner that Tesla owners will be able to enjoy.
Tesla reveals key detail of Supercharger Diner, but it’s bigger than you think
The Diner is not exclusive to Tesla owners, but these two features do require a Tesla for compatibility purposes.
Order Food from Your Car
As you pull into the Supercharger Diner, you can order any food item you want, including burgers, wings, fries, shakes, cookies, and more, directly from your vehicle.
A prompt will likely appear that will open a menu to the Supercharger Diner, allowing you to order food. An employee will bring the food out, that is, if Tesla decides to continue with a true and traditional 50s diner theme.
We get it, it’s not a groundbreaking feature. It’s still cool, convenient, and another advantage to visit the diner as a Tesla owner.
Movie Screen Audio Will Sync to Your Tesla
There are two massive movie screens that will play various entertainment options during your visit to the Supercharger Diner. There have been movie clips and even SpaceX launch highlights playing during recent drone flyovers at the location on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Instead of having to open your windows to hear the content on the screen, it will instead sync the audio and play directly in your vehicle through your car stereo speakers.
True
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2025
The Supercharger Diner has also appeared on the Tesla app for the first time, and is currently showing 80 stalls at the location:
🚨 The Tesla Diner is now showing up on the phone app.
80 Superchargers!!! pic.twitter.com/fdN2MzyZCg
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 18, 2025
Although the stalls are not yet active, the culmination of all the details we’ve learned over the past week about the Diner only points to one thing: an imminent grand opening.
Tesla has not yet confirmed a date for the Supercharger Diner’s opening, and Los Angeles building and construction permits also do not state a specific target date for opening.
It seems as if Tesla will reveal the date itself, potentially in the coming week, as it will report earnings on Wednesday, July 23.
Tesla ‘Model Q’ gets bold prediction from Deutsche Bank that investors will love
Tesla preps to expand Robotaxi geofence once again, answering Waymo
Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger
-
Elon Musk3 days agoWaymo responds to Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion in Austin with bold statement
-
News4 days agoTesla exec hints at useful and potentially killer Model Y L feature
-
Elon Musk4 days agoElon Musk reveals SpaceX’s target for Starship’s 10th launch
-
Elon Musk5 days agoTesla ups Robotaxi fare price to another comical figure with service area expansion
-
News3 days agoTesla’s longer Model Y did not scale back requests for this vehicle type from fans
-
News4 days ago“Worthy of respect:” Six-seat Model Y L acknowledged by Tesla China’s biggest rivals
-
News5 days agoFirst glimpse of Tesla Model Y with six seats and extended wheelbase
-
Elon Musk4 days agoElon Musk confirms Tesla is already rolling out a new feature for in-car Grok