Transcript:
Kelsey Barberio: South-by-Southwest attendees will have a new way to get around Austin this year: robotaxis.
Just days ahead of the annual conference, which will see roughly 300,000 people flock to the Texas capital, Waymo has begun offering robotaxi rides through the Uber app.
Waymo already offers driverless rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. However, Austin is the first market in which Uber will operate its own fleet of Waymo cars.
Related: These parents shun Uber for Waymo for a built-in safety feature
Of the move, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said “With Waymo’s technology and Uber’s proven platform, we’re excited to introduce our customers to a future of transportation that is increasingly electric and autonomous.”
The move also sets up a potential showdown with Elon Musk’s Tesla. Tesla has said it plans to launch its own driverless rideshare program in Austin in June. The EV-maker has even announced its own robotaxi, the CyberCab, but has yet to actually produce one.
Riders pay for more than 200,000 Waymo rides every week in its three initial launch cities.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From New York City, I’m Kelsey Barberio with TheStreet.
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