TL;DR
Waymo's Texas robotaxi fleet jumped 49% in three weeks to 1,102 vehicles, powered by a Chinese-built Zeekr minivan the company is betting will unlock mass-scale profitability despite steep tariff headwinds.
What happened
- 49% fleet growth in three weeks: Waymo's Texas registered vehicles surged from roughly 740 to 1,102 as of September 24, per the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker.
- Ojai minivan is the engine: the new vehicle, a modified Zeekr RT branded "Ojai," now makes up about a third of Waymo's Texas fleet and drove the September spike.
- Ojai carries Waymo's sixth-generation self-driving system plus Google Gemini as an in-car assistant, and is assembled at Waymo's Arizona factory after arriving stripped of Chinese connected-car tech.
- 5,100 Ojai imports targeted by year-end, according to MoffettNathanson tracking shipping records, signaling the ramp is just beginning.
- System-wide context: Waymo now operates in 15 U.S. cities, runs roughly 4,000 total robotaxis, and averages 500,000 paid rides per week, up from three cities in September 2024.
Why it matters
- 80% of the fleet is concentrated in California and Texas, meaning Waymo's national footprint story masks a two-state bet where operational density and unit economics are actually being tested.
- Tariffs are a live cost threat: Zeekr RT base vehicles ship from China and face steep U.S. import tariffs under current trade policy, eroding the cost savings the Ojai was designed to deliver.
- Texas is the new scaling laboratory: Austin launched via Uber partnership in March 2025, and Waymo has since added Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, making Texas the fastest-growing multi-city cluster.
- The Ojai's interior is built for heavy commercial use, signaling Waymo is designing for utilization rates and durability, not just demo rides, which is a prerequisite for unit-economics viability.
- Florida and Las Vegas are next in line for Ojai influx, meaning the tariff-versus-scale tension will play out across multiple new markets simultaneously.
What to watch next
- Whether Waymo hits the 5,100 Ojai import target by December: any shortfall would signal tariff costs or supply constraints are biting harder than the company is absorbing publicly.
- Texas fleet utilization and ride volume disclosures: fleet size is now trackable via state registrations, but revenue per vehicle in Texas will reveal whether density is translating into economics.
- U.S.-China trade policy shifts: any tariff relief on Chinese-built EVs would immediately improve Ojai margins and could accelerate the import pace beyond current projections.
Originally published on Present of AI, a daily source-linked AI news timeline. Read the full timeline or browse the open dataset.