Waymo Scales Ojai Robotaxi as Nevada Opens to Tesla, Uber
31 Aug 2026
Two developments this week signal how fast the robotaxi market is scaling — and how fragile that scale-up could be.
On August 19, 2026, Waymo opened its next-generation robotaxi, the Ojai, to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. A day later, on August 20, the Nevada Transportation Authority unanimously approved permits allowing Tesla, Uber, and Waymo to run commercial robotaxi services in Clark County for the next 12 months.
The Ojai rollout
The Ojai is a minivan built by Zeekr — a brand owned by China's Geely Holding Group — under a partnership Waymo formed in 2021. It runs Waymo's sixth-generation self-driving system, a redesigned user interface, and uses Google's Gemini AI as an in-car assistant.
Waymo currently operates about 300 Ojai vehicles in its commercial fleet. According to MoffettNathanson estimates, the company is on pace to bring 5,000 Ojai vehicles to the U.S. by the end of 2026 — more than double its existing Jaguar I-Pace fleet, which operates in 11 U.S. cities. In July alone, 725 Ojai vehicles entered the U.S. Waymo plans to expand Ojai service to Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego later this year.
One complicating factor: tariffs on Ojai vehicles imported from China have added cost to Waymo's production, though the report doesn't specify exactly how much, or how that cost is passed on to riders. The Ojai has been framed as "cheaper" than the Jaguar fleet, but no pricing comparison is provided.
Nevada opens the door — with caveats
Separately, Nevada regulators approved permits for up to 8,000 total robotaxis in Clark County, split as follows: Tesla can deploy up to 5,000, Waymo and Uber up to 1,000 each, and Zoox up to 100. Uber will operate its Nevada fleet through partnerships with Hyundai subsidiary Motional and Zoox; Motional is already testing autonomous vehicles in Las Vegas's Golden Triangle, downtown, and the Town Square shopping district. Uber has also lobbied for a system requiring robotaxis to operate on a ride-hailing network that includes human drivers.
Not everyone is on board. The Livery Operators Association and local taxi companies opposed the permits, citing oversaturation and road congestion risks. And even Tesla's own team is tempering expectations: Cybercab chief engineer Eric Early said the 5,000-vehicle permit is a ceiling, not a target, and the company expects to deploy closer to 2,500 vehicles over the next year. No timeline has been given for when any of the three companies will actually begin Clark County operations.
Why founders should care
- Waymo's multi-city Ojai expansion likely signals growing consumer comfort with autonomous ride-hailing — a trend that could inform go-to-market timing for AV-adjacent startups, though adoption speed remains unproven at scale.
- Nevada's broad permit approval may indicate a more favorable regulatory climate for AV operators in certain states, which could be a useful signal for founders evaluating where to pilot autonomous or fleet-based products.
- Tesla's admission that it will likely deploy well under its permitted cap suggests founders should be cautious about assuming permitted fleet sizes translate directly into near-term market size.
- Continued opposition from taxi and livery groups points to a real possibility of regulatory friction and public pushback for AV-dependent transportation products, even in permissive jurisdictions.
- Tariffs on Chinese-manufactured vehicle components are already raising costs for a major player like Waymo, which may be a useful early warning for startups relying on foreign-manufactured hardware.
The opportunity underneath the risk
Despite the friction, the report highlights several openings: Waymo's expansion across six cities points to a scaling market for autonomous ride-hailing infrastructure and support services. Nevada's permit ceiling of 8,000 vehicles could create regional demand for fleet management, maintenance, or AV software providers. Uber's multi-partner model with Motional and Zoox suggests room for smaller AV or fleet-service startups to plug into established ride-hailing platforms. And Waymo's use of Gemini as an in-car assistant hints at growing demand for conversational AI and in-vehicle software.
What's still unclear
Several gaps remain in the current picture: there's no confirmed pricing difference between the Ojai and Jaguar fleets, no breakdown of how tariffs affect per-vehicle costs, no safety or performance comparison between the two vehicle types, and no clarity on how many of Nevada's 8,000 approved permits will actually be used given Tesla's own scaling caveats. Founders tracking this space should treat the headline fleet and permit numbers as ceilings, not forecasts.