I recently saw with pleasure that Waymo has just announced the increase in its autonomous taxis in one of the cities in the USA. And I think that's good news, especially after another self-driving car company (Argo) recently filed for bankruptcy.
But all that glitters is not gold, as Waymo continues to increase its autonomous taxi services, but at the same time continues to lose large sums of money each year. In the year 2021 it lost 5.4 billion dollars, and 4.8 billion in the year 2020.
What happens is that the "mother" company Alphabet has large pockets to bear the losses while waiting for better times, which is not known when they will arrive, although I suppose that they will have some forecast.
Waymo was the first company that started the adventure of autonomous cars more than 10 years ago, they have a very reliable technology that has caused them very few accidents, and in general not serious, and I think that it is a little ahead of the other competing companies.
But that does not mean that it will be successful, and every day there are more people who do not see the future of fully autonomous cars as clear.
It is true that the sensors that an autonomous car has have been reduced in size and price, but these cars are still expensive, because they are still produced in very small quantities.
The world of taxis is very big all over the world. In total there are many millions of cars, but the authorities require great security measures before approving their circulation in cities. And meanwhile, companies that offer autonomous taxis (like Waymo) continue to lose money. And the years keep passing.
And despite everything, Waymo continues to bet on the autonomous taxi, and the proof is that it has just presented a taxi model without a steering wheel, as can be seen in the photo below.
This model of car that is typical of Waymo has large sliding doors on both sides with which access is extremely comfortable. The sensors are small and perfectly integrated into the bodywork, so the car is no longer so cumbersome.
A video can be seen at: https://youtu.be/mKtatAxM48A
I see a practical sense in the use of autonomous taxis in the center of large cities, where there are many potential customers. But it seems that today, the cost of autonomous technology is still not worth the savings of not having to use a driver in each car.
I don't know when that situation will change, but in the meantime Alphabet continues to put money into Waymo to continue operating and at the forefront of this niche market.
And how many years will this situation last? Who knows !!!
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