Waymo and Uber will bring robotaxis to Austin and Atlanta

Driving the news: Waymo's fleet of autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-Pace cars will be available to Uber users starting in early 2025, the companies announced Friday.

How it works: Riders who request an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric could get a Waymo car.

• Riders also will be able to increase their chances of being matched to a Waymo ride by opting into autonomous rides in the Uber app, a Waymo spokesperson told Axios.
• A spokesperson for Waymo said the company will share more details about the service area in the future. Autonomous vehicles use geo-fencing, meaning they likely won't be able to operate in some parts of the city.

What they're saying: "Waymo's mission is to be the world's most trusted driver, and we're excited to launch this expanded network and operations partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta to bring the benefits of fully autonomous driving to more riders," Waymo's co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement.

• Uber CEO Andrew Macdonald wrote on X: "Yes, this is driverless technology, but we believe that the number of human drivers and autonomous vehicles will both continue to grow, side by side, for quite a long time as we scale this hybrid network of both human drivers and AVs."
• Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, and Uber have already been operating fully autonomous trips in Phoenix.

The intrigue: Waymo sued Uber in 2017, alleging the company conspired to steal its autonomous driving technology.

• Uber and company executive Anthony Levandowski agreed to pay a $179 million settlement and Levandowski was later sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing trade secrets. Former President Trump pardoned him before he served any prison time.

State of play: A growing number of companies have begun testing their autonomous vehicle technology in Austin.

• At least three other companies — Amazon-owned Zoox, Volkswagen's ADMT and food delivery startup AVRide — are now testing cars on Austin roads, according to the city, while Hyundai's Motional is in its mapping phase.

Zoom in: Earlier this year, Waymo began testing its vehicles across 43 square miles of the city, including downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, Hyde Park and East Austin.

Friction point: The new self-driving technology has been scrutinized by Austin residents, who have filed complaints over the vehicles blocking traffic, making unsafe turns and even crashing. Most complaints by Austinites were made against Cruise, which suspended its self-driving car operations last fall.

• At least six complaints have been filed against Waymo. One was classified as a "safety concern," four as "nuisance" and one as a "near miss" — according to a city site that logs autonomous vehicle incidents.
• Meanwhile, Waymo is facing a federal investigation into crashes involving the Alphabet division's autonomous vehicles.
• Investigators in May flagged 22 incidents with Waymo's self-driving cars where they were "the sole vehicle operated during a collision" or "exhibited driving behavior that potentially violated traffic safety laws."

The other side: In response to the investigation, a Waymo spokesperson said the company is "proud of our performance and safety record over tens of millions of autonomous miles driven, as well as our demonstrated commitment to safety transparency" and will work with the agency.

Between the lines: Per a 2017 state law supported by car companies, Texas cities can't regulate self-driving cars.

What's next: Austin-based Tesla plans to introduce a robotaxi on Oct. 10, although many questions remain.

Dig deeper: A day in a Waymo driverless car