Waymo applies for special permit to bring its self-driving cars to New York City
Waymo is doing what was once unthinkable: bringing its robotaxi service to the streets of New York City next month.
"We've applied for a @NYC_DOT permit to drive autonomously with a specialist behind the wheel while we're in the city — a key step to one day serving New Yorkers," the Alphabet-backed (GOOG, GOOGL) company said in a post on X.
Waymo said it is also advocating for changes to state law to bring its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the city in the future. New York's busy streets, with vehicles, pedestrians, bikers, and all sorts of delivery drivers, are seen as one of the most challenging terrains for a rototaxi operator.
Waymo's announcement of a future New York City-based service comes amid a planned nationwide expansion. The company operates in parts of San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin, and just announced it was expanding service in greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tesla (TSLA), which is slated to begin its robotaxi testing in Austin starting next week, will not use safety drivers in its cars when its test begins but will have remote teleoperators available. Two Tesla robotaxis were seen testing in Austin last week, but Tesla employees were sitting in the passenger seat.
Waymo, the leader in the robotaxi space with 250,000 trips per week, counts competitors like Zoox (backed by Amazon (AMZN)), China's Pony AI (PONY) and WeRide (WRD), and of course Tesla, though none operate in as many regions or perform as many autonomous rides as Waymo. Volkswagen's MOIA revealed its ID. Buzz AD robotaxi in Germany this week. However, its vehicles plan to use other operators' platforms, like Uber, to deploy its vehicles.
Waymo's expansion counts on its ability to manufacture more vehicles, which the company said will expand to 2,500 vehicles in the near future. Though that production is much smaller compared to what a traditional automaker like Tesla or VW can produce, Waymo is countering that issue by partnering with manufacturers like Toyota and China's Zeekr.
Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Billionaire Seth Klarman Holds Just 1 "Magnificent Seven" Stock in His Hedge Fund's Portfolio -- and He Just Bought More
Seth Klarman is a staunch proponent of value investing, but he remains flexible in that approach. The Magnificent Seven stocks are expensive as a group, with most of them trading at a P/E above 30. This stock has been held down by multiple challenges, but the price is too attractive to pass up. 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet › Seth Klarman is a well-respected value investor with a global following. And there's good reason for that. His Baupost Group hedge fund returned an average of 20% per year over the first 30 years of its existence. That performance comes despite value stocks falling well out of favor over the last decade. But Klarman and his team emphasize that they "remain flexible in their application" of value investing. That means investing in stocks that are mispriced relative to their value, even if they won't show up on any stock screeners for deep value based on traditional metrics. As a result, this method can end up with some stocks that many investors would consider growth stocks, such as those found in the Magnificent Seven. But Klarman only sees one member of the vaunted group of trillion-dollar stocks as worth his and his investors' money, and he just added more of it to Baupost's portfolio. The Magnificent Seven is a group of stocks full of interesting opportunities for the right investor. And anyone who invested in any or all of them is probably happy with their returns over the last couple of years. But a few may not present the value necessary for an investment from someone like Klarman. As a group, they're relatively expensive based on traditional valuation standards. Four of the seven sport forward P/E ratios above 30, including Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) with its 168 times multiple. While Tesla could prove worth the price with its plans for a robotaxi service and humanoid robots, there's a lot of risk in buying the stock at its current price, especially as its core car business is facing stiff competition abroad. The other high-priced members are growing quickly and on relatively solid footing, but it's hard to argue they're a bargain at their current prices. But one member of the group trades for a valuation below the S&P 500's average, and that's kind of surprising for a stock with such strong growth potential. The stock has consistently traded at or near the lowest valuation of the Magnificent Seven, giving investors plenty of opportunities. That's why Klarman and his team have built up a position in Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), including adding 652,000 more shares in the first quarter, increasing its stake in the company by 46%. There are good reasons for Alphabet to trade at a lower valuation than the rest of the group. It carries some significant risks. The first big risk facing Alphabet is regulatory risk. The company faces several lawsuits in the U.S. and elsewhere that could result in interventions to reduce any monopolistic powers, particularly in web search and digital advertising. That could include things like selling its Chrome browser or its ad marketplace and ending agreements like its $20 billion per year traffic acquisition partnership with Apple. Despite those risks, the impact on Alphabet's operations could be muted given the strength of its brand and product. That's where the second risk comes in. Many see artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT eating into Google's dominance of web search. In a hearing last month, Apple's Senior VP for Services, Eddy Cue, suggested iPhone users are searching less in 2025 and spending more time in AI apps. However, the data from Alphabet doesn't support the narrative that it's losing significant share to AI. In fact, AI may be a boon to its search business thanks to three new features the company's introduced to leverage the power of large language models. Its AI Overviews (and now AI Mode) have led to increased user engagement and satisfaction, as users expand the search queries they send to Google. Importantly, management says it's able to monetize searches with AI Overviews at the same rate as searches without it. Two other AI-powered features driving search are circle-to-search and Google Lens, which have increased valuable product searches on Google. One piece of Alphabet's business that has seen very strong results without much regulatory threat is its Google Cloud platform. The cloud computing segment is seeing strong demand fueled by AI, which pushed its revenue 28% higher year over year in the first quarter. Moreover, its operating margin expanded to 17.8% from just 9.4% last year, and there's still significant upside from there. Alphabet is also home to "Other Bets," which includes the leading self-driving car company, Waymo. Waymo's made significant progress in its robotaxi business and remains years ahead of the next closest competitor. It now completes 250,000 paid trips per week, as of its most recent update at the start of May. As the market expands, Waymo could prove a significant growth driver for the company. All this is to say, the company as a whole should conservatively be able to produce double-digit revenue growth for the foreseeable future despite the regulatory and competitive challenges it faces. And as Google Cloud and Waymo scale, they should enable even faster earnings growth. At a forward P/E close to 18, Alphabet's stock looks like a bargain among the Magnificent Seven. It's no wonder Klarman and his team have continued to add shares around this price. Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Alphabet wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy has positions in Alphabet and Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Billionaire Seth Klarman Holds Just 1 "Magnificent Seven" Stock in His Hedge Fund's Portfolio -- and He Just Bought More was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2 Stocks Down 34% and 40% to Buy Right Now
Tesla is a risky stock, but it's very well positioned to profit from the successful development of its robotaxi concept. AMD could be on the verge of making big gains in the AI hardware market. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › The first half of 2025 will draw to a close at the end of this month, and investors have been treated to some big twists and turns in the year so far. Despite some major sell-offs in the spring, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are up roughly 2% and 1%, respectively, as of this writing. While macroeconomic and geopolitical factors could inject additional rounds of volatility into the market, backing great companies for the long haul remains one of the best paths to generating strong investment returns. With some promising companies still trading at significant discounts compared to previous highs, read on to see why two Motley Fool contributors think that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) stand out as smart long-term investment plays right now. Lee Samaha (Tesla): Tesla stock trades down about 22% in 2025 and down about 33% from its all-time high. It hasn't been an easy year for the company or its CEO, Elon Musk, with ongoing relatively high interest rates curtailing car sales overall, and Tesla appearing to lose some ground to its rival electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers. Meanwhile, Musk's political involvements have likely caused some brand damage, and the Cybertruck has proven to be a disappointment. That said, there's an odd logic to the market's reaction to these events. The investment case for Tesla has never been purely based on it as an EV manufacturer. Instead, the main value in the company lies in its potential to generate a massive stream of long-term recurring revenue from robotaxis, possibly on a ride-per-mile basis, as well as selling unsupervised, full self-driving (FSD) software. The good news is Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service, albeit on a small scale, in Austin, Texas, on June 22. Naturally, Tesla's position as the leading EV company (and manufacturer of the best-selling vehicle in the world, the Model Y, and potentially the manufacturer of a low-cost dedicated robotaxi, the Cybercab) gives it a significant advantage in a market where competitors like Ford Motor Company and General Motors have unfulfilled ambitions. Indeed, there is a reason why leading automakers and technology companies have invested billions in developing commercially viable robotaxis. Tesla is a speculative investment, with a significant portion of its stock price tied to the success of robotaxis and its FSD capabilities. It's a risky stock, not least because there are no guarantees surrounding its fledgling robotaxi service. However, if Tesla can demonstrate a successful launch of its robotaxi service, then there's plenty of upside potential for enterprising investors. (Advanced Micro Devices): The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is the most important trend in the tech industry. Thus far, Nvidia is the one company that stands out as the clear, undisputed champion in the AI hardware space. That looks like it could continue to be the case for the foreseeable future, but it doesn't mean that other players won't be able to score some significant victories in the category. Like Nvidia, AMD is a designer of graphics processing units (GPUs) that can be used for training artificial intelligence models and running AI inference applications. Nvidia's GPUs are the clear-cut favorites among business customers seeking ultra-high-end performance, and AMD is currently a distant second place in the category. But crucially, there's a good chance that AMD's prospects in the AI space do not hinge entirely on unseating its rival when it comes to delivering bleeding-edge GPU and AI accelerator performance. As the AI market continues to expand, there will likely be a market for a wider range of suitable hardware -- and AMD looks poised to score wins as this trend unfolds. Even better, the company delivered some great news for investors at its recent "Advancing AI 2025" conference. In addition to unveiling new advanced AI servers for the data center market, the company indicated that it's making some big leaps forward with its related software support systems. OpenAI announced that it will be using AMD's chips, and Amazon could also be moving to adopt the company's processors for its data centers. In general, it looks like the market for AI GPUs and accelerators will be able to support more than one winner. While Nvidia is poised to retain leadership in the market, AMD appears to have solid second-place positioning -- and it could be in the early stages of benefiting from the broadening artificial intelligence hardware market. Despite a recent rally powered by excitement surrounding AMD's new AI chips, the company's share price is still down roughly 40% and looks like a smart buy. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $377,293!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $37,319!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $659,171!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Stocks Down 34% and 40% to Buy Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tesla plans $8 billion U.S. investment this fiscal year
-- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced plans to invest approximately $8 billion in United States infrastructure and manufacturing during the current fiscal year, according to a post on X on late Friday. The electric vehicle manufacturer revealed it has already invested around $44 billion in capital expenditures in the US since the company's founding. Tesla noted that in the previous fiscal year alone, it made approximately $10 billion in capital expenditures. "Tesla has been focused on investing in manufacturing and infrastructure in the US since our inception and till the beginning of the year, we had invested ~$44B of capital expenditures. Just in the last fiscal year alone, we did ~$10B of capital expenditure and plan to invest another ~$8B this fiscal year," the company stated in its social media post. Related articles Tesla plans $8 billion U.S. investment this fiscal year Meet the nine private humanoid robot firms shaping the future stocks of the week Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
