About a month ago, I flew home from a work trip into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It was late. My wife and kids were asleep. So, I fetched a ride from a ride-hailing app. The car arrived. It took me to my home in the suburbs. Dropped me off.
It was a typical ride-hailing experience.
Except for one critical detail…
There was no driver.
The car that picked me up from the airport, drove me through Phoenix, and dropped me off at my house had no driver.
It was a fully autonomous vehicle operated by Waymo.
Waymo is the self-driving unit at Alphabet Inc. (GOOG). It’s been working on developing autonomous vehicle technology for over a decade now. For the past few years, it’s been quietly testing its technology through autonomous ride-hailing in Phoenix and a few other American cities. Folks in those areas can hail an autonomous Waymo and have it drive them from place to place. I bet many of you live nearby one of them and can try this yourself
That’s what I did for my trip from Phoenix Sky Harbor International to my house.
And you can check out my video report during that trip right here.
Here’s How It Works
After downloading the Waymo One app, I summoned a ride, much in the same way you call an Uber or a Lyft through their apps.
It arrived at the airport pickup location. I unlocked the car with my phone and stepped into the back of the vehicle. I put down my bags, buckled my seatbelt, and clicked “Start Ride” on an iPad-like display in the backseat.
The Waymo – which, in my case, was a Jaguar – drove itself away from the airport, navigated through Phoenix traffic, and, some 30 minutes later, dropped me off safely at my house.
It was a wonderful experience.
And not an isolated one.
Waymo is currently delivering more than 100,000 autonomous rides per week in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
That’s a lot of rides!
And they’re growing quickly. Just a few months ago, Waymo was only completing about 50,000 rides per week – meaning it’s doubled its ride volume in just a few months.
I think that number will double in the next few months, too.
Earlier this summer, Waymo announced that it is expanding its driving area in Phoenix and including highways. Less than two months ago, it announced expanded driving areas in San Francisco and Los Angeles. And in just a few months, Waymo plans to roll out autonomous rides to Austin and Atlanta.
Plus, the company has partnered with Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) to autonomously deliver food through Uber Eats in select locations, including Phoenix.
It seems Waymo is firing on all cylinders right now.
Maybe that’s why Alphabet just invested an extra $5 billion in the company. With that much funding, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Waymo operating in every major U.S. metro by the end of 2025.
This Progress Is Widespread
Though, it isn’t just Waymo that’s swiftly making self-driving cars a reality.
Aurora Innovation (AUR), an autonomous trucking company, has partnered with several major firms like Paccar, Volvo, and Uber Freight to develop fully self-driving trucks. Another startup – Kodiak Robotics – is also focused on making autonomous big rigs.
Both are preparing to launch fully autonomous trucks on public roads in Texas later this year (without safety drivers). That means that in just a few months, Texans could see a self-driving 18-wheeler hauling goods from city to city. Aurora also plans to launch autonomous trucks in the Phoenix area soon as well.
Meanwhile, in China, Baidu (BIDU) has launched an autonomous ride-hailing service called Apollo Go. It appears to be just as big as Waymo, completing nearly 100,000 rides per week.
And next week, Elon Musk – the world’s richest man – is set to unveil his own autonomous vehicle platform, dubbed the Tesla Robotaxi, in what some are calling the firm’s biggest reveal in years.
Folks, we believe the writing is on the wall.
With Waymo and Apollo Go each completing about 100,000 autonomous rides per week and expanding rapidly… Aurora and Kodiak preparing to launch fully autonomous trucks on public freeways within months… and Musk set to unveil Tesla’s own self-driving Robotaxi next week… we think it is entirely safe to say…
The Age of Autonomous Vehicles has arrived.
The Final Word on a Robotaxi Revolution
The self-driving cars are here. They are spreading rapidly. And they’ll likely become a global ubiquity, possibly entirely replacing human-driven cars, trucks, and buses at some point.
Of course, the arrival of the Age of Autonomous Vehicles also means the arrival of huge opportunities in AV stocks.
Which is why this Monday, Oct. 7, at 10 a.m. Eastern, I am going to host a timely broadcast to help you understand the importance of the Age of AVs. Just go here to sign up and save your seat.
In that broadcast, I’ll detail all the recent groundbreaking developments in the autonomous vehicle industry, including how robotaxis are set to completely transform transportation, save millions of lives, and potentially put up to $30,000 a year in passive income in your pocket.
We’ll also dive headlong into the highly anticipated Robotaxi launch that could unlock a staggering $9 trillion in value – bigger than all of Elon Musk’s companies combined.
While Musk has been promising self-driving technology for years without success, I believe a tiny $3 company holds the key to unlocking his biggest, boldest promise. This upcoming Robotaxi event could send shares of this company skyrocketing, and I’ll unveil my playbook of what I believe are some of the best AV tech supplier stocks to buy right now.
This will be the “must-watch” event for the month of October.
It’s your chance to get ahead of the curve and potentially identify the next batch of superstar tech stocks before they explode.
Trust me. You do not want to miss this game-changing broadcast.
Click here to reserve your seat now and position yourself for potentially life-changing gains.
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
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