Waymo debuts in Minneapolis — with human drivers for now

Why it matters: The rollout, which comes days after the cars were spotted being delivered in Minneapolis, is meant to "lay the early groundwork" for the autonomous ride-hailing company to expand to the Twin Cities.

What to expect: Drivers will use the cars, which are equipped with sensors and with cameras on their roofs, to map the city and collect other data about navigating local roads, spokesperson Chris Bonelli told Axios.

• Once that's done, they'll operate the vehicles autonomously "with a trained human specialist in the driver's seat," he said.
• The testing will start in the "downtown core" and expand throughout the city over time, Bonelli said. They may add St. Paul or suburbs later.

The intrigue: Bonelli said Waymo plans to "transition to fully autonomous operations without a human present once we've validated our technology on Minneapolis' streets."

State of play: MnDOT says that Minnesota doesn't have specific automated vehicle legislation, but notes that operations on public roadways "must meet current statutes and laws."

• That's a shift from the agency's earlier statements to Axios saying a human needed be on board and able to take control.

Between the lines: Waymo recently hired a handful of state lobbyists and several key lawmakers say they're open to legislation regulating fully autonomous driving on state roads.

• An advisory council formed by Gov. Tim Walz has also been meeting to come up with policy recommendations.

Friction point: The push to green light the technology in Minnesota is expected to face resistance from labor unions, rideshare drivers and some local officials.

• Minneapolis Council Member Jason Chavez wrote on Bluesky this week that he'd support a local ordinance requiring that humans remain present in the vehicles.

The big picture: The Minneapolis move comes amid a major expansion push for the company, which is fully operational in five metros nationwide.

• It plans to launch in over a dozen more cities in the next year or so.

What we're watching: The rollout's timing will allow Waymo to test its fleet in the winter.

• Bonelli said the company has made "great strides" in snow driving, via testing in places like Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and technology that can clean snow and ice from the cars.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the latest from MnDOT, which now says the state doesn't have specific automated vehicle legislation.