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The week in EV tech: Robotaxis are here. Are we ready?

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Week in EV
This story is part of our regular Week in EV round-up series

Welcome to Digital Trends’ weekly recap of the revolutionary technology powering, connecting, and now driving next-gen electric vehicles.

A ride in a robotaxi—just you and a machine at the wheel. Tempting? Terrifying? I haven’t taken one yet, so I can easily picture myself nodding serenely on the outside, while my inner backseat driver screams in silence at every unexpected turn.

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If you’re also hesitant about the new technology, you’re not alone: According to an MIT/JD Power survey , 83% want more safety data before taking the plunge, and 86% want the ability to take over the steering wheel—just in case tech takes a wrong turn.

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It didn’t help that the year kicked off with the story of a tech entrepreneur almost missing his plane in Phoenix, Arizona after his robotaxi experienced a glitch and looped 8 times around a parking lot.

That being said, overall consumer confidence in the technology has steadily increased over the past few years, coinciding with rising numbers of safety studies . And, of course, U.S.-market leaders, such as Alphabet’s Waymo , Amazon’s Zoox , and soon Tesla’s robotaxis , are increasingly deploying automated-driven wheels on city streets.

Waymo

Just this past week, Waymo received approval to further expand its operations around the San Francisco Peninsula, including San Jose. With a fleet of over 1,500 vehicles already operating in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida, the company is the undisputed robotaxi leader in the U.S., delivering over 250,000 rides per week.

So what secret sauce does Waymo use to ease riders into its Jaguar I-Pace EVs?

Before you start your first ride, you’ll receive a walkthrough of the vehicle and app, including how to start the ride, lock/unlock doors, and contact support—building comfort from the start.

Once seated inside, you’ll find a screen in front of you displaying a live map and the vehicle’s exact location. This real-time information helps you understand what the car is doing and where it’s going. Studies show these “situational awareness displays” can ease anxiety and reduce feelings of powerlessness—just like the in-flight maps on airplanes. If your backseat driver tendencies are still kicking in, audio and visual cues let riders know what the car is about to do, such as ‘slowing for a pedestrian’ or ‘waiting to make a left turn’, to reinforce trust in the vehicle’s decision-making.

For Waymo, as with most other manufacturers of robotaxis, ensuring safety starts with using expensive navigational technology: Waymo’s vehicles rely on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar). This largely explains why Waymo was able to receive an early nod from safety regulators and take the lead in the U.S. market.

Tesla

Tesla, which is set to launch its own robotaxis in Austin, Texas in June, has taken a different, less expensive, approach: Its self-driving technology relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed AI machine-learning models which, in turn, help the car make decisions. That technology has so far remained under much tighter scrutiny from regulators.

At this stage of the game, automakers continue to test different blends of navigational tech, and eventually, the results will have to speak for themselves. But it’s interesting to note that just one month before the launch of its own robotaxis, Tesla’s head of Autopilot and AI Software, Ashok Elluswamy, made a stunning admission : “Technically, Waymo is already performing,” Elluswamy said during an interview with an Indian podcaster. “We are lagging by maybe a couple of years.”

Zoox

Zoox, Amazon’s self-driving unit, has also been making headlines this past week, announcing it will soon begin testing self-driving cars in Atlanta. The fleet will consist of retrofitted SUVs with human safety operators, marking the company’s seventh testing location.

Stepping into a Zoox, maybe the first thing you’d notice is the absence of a steering wheel and then, the seating arrangement: Four individual seats arranged in a symmetrical, face-to-face configuration—two seats on each side—without a traditional front or back.

According to the company , this setup fosters a lounge-like atmosphere, encouraging conversation among passengers and eliminating the hierarchy often associated with front and back seats in conventional vehicles. Each seat offers equal space, comfort, and access to features, ensuring no passenger is prioritized over another. In your personal seat, you’ll find amenities such as cupholders, wireless charging pads and touchscreens that allow you to control music, climate settings, and lighting.

If there’s no steering wheel in sight and I get to kick back in a lounge-style cabin chatting face-to-face, I just might forget all about my backseat driver habits. Think that’d work for you too?

Uber

In other robotaxi news, hail-riding app company Uber has announced it’s ready to launch driverless taxi services in the UK, in collaboration with 18 tech firms to equip vehicles with radar, multiple cameras, and AI-powered software. But, in the UK, the government isn’t yet ready to take a backseat and wants further testing with human drivers present. The expected launch has been pushed back to 2027.

Nick Godt
Nick Godt
Freelance reporter
Nick Godt has covered global business news on three continents for over 25 years.
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Zoox recalls robotaxis after Las Vegas crash, citing software fix
zoox recall crash 1739252352 robotaxi side profile in dark mode

Amazon's self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, has issued a voluntary safety recall after one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a minor collision in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred in April 2025, led the company to investigate and identify a software issue affecting how the robotaxi anticipates another vehicle’s path.
The recall, affecting 270 Zoox-built vehicles, was formally filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Zoox said the issue has already been addressed through a software update that was remotely deployed to its fleet.
Zoox’s robotaxis, which operate without driving controls like a steering wheel or pedals, are part of Amazon’s entry into the autonomous driving space. According to Zoox’s safety recall report, the vehicle failed to yield to oncoming traffic while making an unprotected left turn, leading to a low-speed collision with a regular passenger car. While damage was minor, the event raised flags about the system’s behavior in complex urban scenarios.
Establishing safety and reliability remain key factors in the deployment of the relatively new autonomous ride-hailing technology. Alphabet-owned Waymo continues to lead the sector in both safety and operational scale, with services active in multiple cities including Phoenix and San Francisco. But GM’s Cruise and Ford/VW-backed Argo AI were forced to abandon operations over the past few years.
Tesla is also expected to enter the robotaxi race with the launch of its own service in June 2025, leveraging its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. While FSD has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny through last year, safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration.
Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, says it issued the recall voluntarily as part of its commitment to safety. “It’s essential that we remain transparent about our processes and the collective decisions we make,” the company said in a statement.

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EV sales surge could continue as Trump delays ending federal rebates, report says
Second-Gen Rivian R1S on a road

A surge in sales of electric vehicles in the final months of last year could continue well into 2025, as consumers continue to take advantage of federal tax incentives while they last, according to a report by the Associated Press.
On the day of his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy”, which says the government is “considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies.”
During his campaign, Trump’s team said it was planning to end the Biden administration’s $7,500 tax credit on the purchase or lease of an EV, although it did not provide a timeline for doing so.
Americans rushed to take advantage of the incentive, helping fuel a surge of more than 15% in EV sales in the fourth quarter, according to Cox Automotive.
Recent surveys show that incentives have played a major role in fueling EV sales over the past few years, and that a majority of Americans are in favor of government incentives to help with the purchase of an EV.
Meanwhile, the wording in Trump’s executive order, which says his administration is still 'considering' its options, leaves room for ambiguity about the timing of its application.
“Temporarily, sales of EVs could skyrocket as car-buyers rush to take advantage of existing tax credits,” the report by the Associated Press says.
In order to repeal the EV tax credit, the Trump administration will need to obtain the approval of congress. The process will likely take place as part of broader negotiations on extending Trump’s first-term tax cuts, which are due to expire near the end of 2025.
It’s also not entirely clear if the Trump administration will seek to end the whole of the $7,500 EV tax incentive. In order to obtain the incentive for the purchase of an EV, restrictions apply for high-income households and for EVs with non-U.S. made batteries. But those restrictions don’t apply to leasing an EV.
According to Cox Automotive, members of the Trump administration are particularly keen on ending “this leasing loophole, which was created partly to appease Korean and Japanese automakers, who have invested billions in U.S. EV manufacturing.”
Ending rebates and other subsidies for EVs is also likely to meet challenges, be they legal or political, from different actors.
The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a trade group whose members include the likes of Tesla, Waymo, Rivian, and Uber, has come out in support of incentives for both the production and the sale of EVs.
ZETA says the incentives for both EV and battery-makers have led to enormous investments and job gains in Republican-dominated states like Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Georgia.

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Waymo’s robotaxis are safer than human-driven vehicles, study says
A Waymo robotaxi picking up a passenger.

Love them or hate them, but robotaxis have certainly been making headlines in 2024. And beyond the glamorous, sci-fi-inspired marketing around Tesla’s recently unveiled Cybercab robotaxi, safety has remained, in one way or another, a recurring theme.

Earlier this year, a survey revealed a majority of the U.S. public, or 68%, brought up safety concerns when asked what they thought about having self-driving vehicles (SDVs) on public roads. Yet within that majority, more than half either believe that SDV safety issues can be addressed or that SDVs will actually be safer than humans.

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