I struggle these days whenever someone asks me for my political affiliation. But if you really force me, I’d describe myself as a “Waymo Democrat.” Waymos are the self-driving electric taxis started by Google. My party’s bumper sticker would read, “A chicken in every pot and a Waymo in every city.” And our TV ads would say: “Trump is for he/him — his grievances, his revenge, his corruption — and for bringing old stuff back ‘again,’ like coal and gasoline cars. Waymo Democrats are for ‘We the People’ and reinventing American industry anew.”Yes, Elon, get out those car tools and finish that product you've been promising for a decade that you are totally going to deliver one of these days. What? You want to inspect my wallet first? Sure go right ahead.
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And, finally, we’d say to Elon Musk: “Stop wasting your talents and hurting America with your DOGE craziness and finally get the Tesla robotaxi that you have been promising for a decade out on the road. The greatest gift you could give America today is to junk your stupid chain saw, replace it with car tools and create a nationwide competition with Waymo for robotaxis.”
One funny thing about the robotaxi dream is that everyone imagines they will somehow make taxi rides free or cheap. My brothers in poverty, how much do you think taxi and uber drivers earn? Just how much less per mile do you imagine your fare is going to be when you are in this much more expensive vehicle? Why exactly do taxi companies want to take responsibility for capital costs they had managed to offload onto their drivers?
I've never been in a Waymo, but people I generally trust say they basically work, though it isn't clear just how many people are inside the mechanical Turk.
Also, they're *really* annoying to other drivers.
Working doesn't mean a successful, competitive business model exists.