Waymo Goes to Washington
This Week in The Autonomy Economy is presented by Koop, a specialist insurance provider focused on robotics and autonomous vehicles.
This Week in The Autonomy Economy, Waymo goes to Washington, Wayve introduced GAIA-2 and China’s ambitions to export autonomy to the world are heating up.
China has ambitions to export autonomy to the world, the same way the country exported (and is still exporting) electric vehicles to the world. China wants to create a global chokepoint that ensures that China is the de facto leader in the development and commercialization of autonomous driving technologies.
As China’s ambitions grow, the media in China is beginning to tout the country’s ambitions and their perceived technical advantages. While there is no way to measure and validate how advanced their autonomous driving technology is, we know that China is benchmarking their technology against Tesla’s FSD.
In an orchestrated fashion the media in China is hyping home-grown Chinese autonomous technologies, while degrading Tesla’s with the goal of changing the narrative to Made in China is Superior to that of Made in America.
It is not, yet, but it could be in the future. Today, Waymo has the world’s best autonomous driving technology and they are exporting it to the world with their first international market potentially being Tokyo.
As Waymo expands globally, look for China-based autonomous driving companies to rapidly expand globally with the goal of controlling the global market. In order for the U.S. to continue to dominate the sector, we need a national autonomous vehicle framework that includes vehicles weighing over 10,001 gross pounds.
A national autonomous vehicle framework will create a level playing field that will ensure that autonomous driving technology can be developed and commercialized in the United States. If there is no framework, the U.S. could fall into China’s trap and we could soon be riding around in a Made in China autonomous vehicle, not a Made in America autonomous vehicle.
America has a choice to make. Do we want to own a technology that was incubated at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), or do we want to be reliant on a geopolitical foe for the future of the U.S. economy—autonomy?
📩The Road to Autonomy platforms are now open to advertising. If you are interested in advertising on our platforms, please visit our Advertising Opportunities page.
Subscribe to This Week in The Autonomy Economy™
A weekly newsletter featuring insight and commentary on the autonomy economy™ and how the financial markets are viewing its emergence.
What’s Moving the Markets
Waymo Goes To Washington
In 1939, Mr. Smith went to Washington, in 2026, Waymo is going to Washington.
Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I’m free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn’t, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that.
– James Stewart as Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Liberty is indeed precious and so is the ability to innovate without the restraints of misinformation and calculated attempts to derail an emerging economy that will benefit society.
In their savviest move yet, Waymo announced on March 25th that they are expanding commercial service to Washington, D.C. in 2026. The misinformation and baseless political arguments that are made against Waymo and the autonomous vehicle industry on a seemingly daily basis are about to go out the door.
No longer will highly paid lobbyists be able to roam the halls of Congress spreading misinformation about autonomous vehicles. The days of spreading false narratives and misinformation are about to come to a screeching halt as there is a new sheriff in town and that sheriff is the truth.
Truth is what sets us free and the truth is what will enable the U.S. economy to prosper from autonomy. Do we want the U.S. to prosper or do we want to let our geopolitical adversaries prosper from a successful lobby campaign that only benefits their clients’ interests?
The choice is black and white and in our opinion it is a simple one, yet it is one that until now has been difficult for some to comprehend as they have not had access to an autonomous vehicle on a daily basis.
Next year, this all changes when Waymo launches commercial service in the District. The “boogeyman” as some lobbyists like to portray autonomous vehicles is coming to town and it is not scary. In fact, it’s the opposite. The so-called “boogeyman” is Santa Claus and he is bringing economic empowerment, job creation and a tool that can help to lower inflation.
Soon residents of the District, staffers, political appointees and elected officials will be able to ride in an autonomous vehicle on a daily basis. When this happens, the fear-mongering and misinformation that is spread around the District by special interests will go the way of the Dodo bird and become extinct.
Sure the lobbyists who are paid to “toe the company line” will continue to spread misinformation, but now the playing field has changed. Soon the truth will prevail and anyone will be able to download the Waymo One app and experience a ride in an autonomous vehicle for themselves firsthand. No more second-hand misinformation, only the facts.
Special interests and their agendas will no longer be able to hide in the shadows of deceit and make autonomy the “boogeyman”. Soon every man, woman and child will find out what we already know, autonomous vehicles are safe.
Autonomous vehicles do not get distracted, they do not text and drive, they do not speed and for those of us who spend a lot of time in the District, they do not complain about traffic. They have one job and one job only, to get you to and from your destination safely.
When the roads are safer, everyone benefits. Soon families will no longer get that dreaded call that we all fear and the economy will benefit from lower health care costs. No matter which way you slice it, and there are lots of ways to slice it, autonomy is good for society. When the economy prospers, every single member of society benefits.
With Waymo’s expansion to D.C., the talking points previously used to derail the emerging autonomy economy will become relics of the past, as both staffers and elected officials will now know the truth. Autonomous vehicles are safe and they are economic growth engines that will propel the U.S. economy to new heights.
Our take: Waymo’s D.C. expansion will get us one step closer to a national autonomous vehicle framework as the days of highly paid lobbyists spreading misinformation will soon be met with a hard reality, the truth. At the end of the day, the truth stands tall while false narratives and misinformation fade into the shadows.
Waymo is currently ranked #1 with a bullish outlook on the AUTONOMY LEADERBOARD in the autonomous vehicle category.
Advocating For The Autonomy Economy | Sponsored
Automation and autonomy will strengthen the economy, create jobs, and reduce inflation. Council for Economic Resilience is dedicated to promoting the future of autonomy and automation for the benefit of the American public.
Get Engaged, Learn More visit CNFER.org
Council for Economic Resilience, Inc. is a 501(c)4 Advocacy Group that is dedicated to promoting the future of autonomy and automation for the benefit of the American people.
Piquing Our Interest
Tesla is Full Steam Ahead for June Launch Tesla is moving full-steam ahead with their plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas this summer. The questions still remain will Tesla launch a robotaxi service in June and will it be supervised or unsupervised? What do you think? Let us know.
Waymo Begins Freeway Testing in Atlanta Waymo has started freeway testing on I-85 in Atlanta. It is important to note that I-85 connects the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) to Downtown Atlanta and Buckhead. Could Waymo’s great highway unlock be right around the corner in multiple cities?
Waymo Has Started Testing in Nashville Nashville is Waymo’s latest road trip city and the vehicles have started popping up in Music City.
Wayve Introduces GAIA-2 On March 26th, Wayve introduced GAIA-2, a video-generative world model that enables autonomous vehicles to scale quickly and safely.
China’s Ambitions to Export Autonomy to The World are Heating Up Make no mistake about it, China wants to export autonomy to the world and now the Chinese media is hyping that narrative.
📰 Before these stories were featured here, they were available on X. Follow @RoadToAutonomy today to stay up-to-date on the latest news and developments shaping the autonomy economy.
Social Buzz
Cruisin’ Down the 405
Waymo appears to be getting closer to the great highway unlock. This week, Will Coleman, Co-Founder & CEO of Alto spotted Waymo testing one of their Zeekr robotaxis on the 405 heading south towards LAX.
Our take: Over the last several weeks, dozens of photos of Waymo Zeekr robotaxis have begun to pop up online. It appears that it is only a matter of time now, until the Zeekr robotaxis go into commercial service.
3.6 Billion Miles and Counting
Tesla has racked up 3.6 billion FSD (Full Self-Driving) miles to date, with 2.16 billion of those miles occurring in 2024 alone. With this significant data gathering operation, Tesla should be getting closer to solving the major edge cases that it will have to solve before releasing FSD Unsupervised. One glaring issue that still has to be solved, school zones. Tesla FSD 13.2.8 is still not recognizing school zone speed limit changes from flashing signs.
Our take: It is only a matter of time until Tesla “cracks” full self-driving.
Tesla is currently ranked #1 with a bullish outlook on the AUTONOMY LEADERBOARD in the personally owned autonomous vehicle category.
Latest The Road to Autonomy Podcast
Inside Aurora’s Mission to Safely Launch Autonomous Trucks
Nat Beuse, Chief Safety Officer, Aurora joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the development of Aurora’s Safety Case Framework and how the company is preparing to safely launch fully autonomous commercial trucks.
Watch on YouTube | Spotify | X
Listen on Apple Podcasts
March 25, 2025
Latest Autonomy Markets Podcast
Texas Roadtrip, Waymo in The Swamp, Don’t Sleep on Autonomous Trucks
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss their road trip to Forward Forth Worth, Waymo’s expansion to Washington, D.C. and the emerging opportunity in autonomous trucking.
Watch on YouTube | Spotify | X
Listen on Apple Podcasts
March 29, 2025
Subscribe to This Week in The Autonomy Economy™
A weekly newsletter featuring insight and commentary on the autonomy economy™ and how the financial markets are viewing its emergence.
All price references and market forecasts are as of the date that this post has been published. The Road to Autonomy is not providing any financial, economic, legal, accounting, or tax advice or recommendations in this post. The information contained in this post does not constitute investment advice and should not be relied upon to evaluate any potential transaction. The information in this on this site and in this post are being provided solely as general information.
