Waymo responds to Tesla's Robotaxi penis geofence with a size increase of its own
The race for the largest self-driving taxi service area in Austin is on.
Shortly after Tesla increased the geofence for its Robotaxis in Austin to a larger, penis-shaped area, Alphabet's Waymo followed up with an area increase of its own.
The company's autonomous taxis now serve 90 square miles of the city, including new areas like Crestview, Windsor Park, Sunset Valley, Franklin Park, and more. With this increase, the company serves a significantly larger area than Tesla.
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Waymo chose to keep this fight civil, though, so its new coverage area isn't shaped like genitalia. It is, as one would expect, bordered mainly by major roads and avenues, such as the MoPac Expressway on the west and Route 183 up north.
In a press release, Waymo pointed out that it's the "only fully autonomous, 24/7 experience for anyone in Austin," with "more than 100 Waymo vehicles" in the city. In comparison, Tesla's service is limited to a fairly small number of Model Y vehicles, and is only available to a handful of users who'd received invites from Tesla.
The company said it plans to expand to both new communities in existing markets and new cities from coast to coast. Waymo currently covers more than 700 square miles across the U.S.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said the company's Robotaxi service will expand to the Bay Area (Waymo is already present there), pending regulatory approval.
Topics Self-Driving Cars Tesla
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
