August 18, 2025 – John Krafcik, the former CEO of Waymo, has expressed skepticism about Tesla’s recently launched Robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Krafcik, who played a pivotal role in transforming Waymo from a research initiative into a commercialized autonomous ride-hailing company during his tenure from 2015 to 2021, now serves on the board of Rivian, a key rival of Tesla.
According to a report by Business Insider, Krafcik stated in an email, “If their goal was to replicate the current Uber experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, then they seem to have achieved it entirely.” Tesla rolled out its ride-hailing service in the region in July, roughly a month after initiating its Robotaxi pilot program. However, due to the absence of a permit from California allowing the testing and deployment of fully driverless taxis, Tesla vehicles still have a human safety supervisor seated in the driver’s seat.
At present, Tesla’s service is accessible only to invited users. On August 10, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, announced that the Robotaxi would be made available to the general public in the coming month. In Austin, where regulations on autonomous vehicle deployment are more lenient, the safety supervisor is positioned in the front passenger seat of the Model Y.
Krafcik contends that the presence of an onboard employee indicates that Tesla has not yet introduced a genuine Robotaxi service. “Please inform me when Tesla launches its Robotaxi; I’m still waiting,” he remarked. He further emphasized, “If there’s an employee in the car, it’s clearly not a Robotaxi.” Additionally, Krafcik expressed no interest in trying out Tesla’s Robotaxi service.
Interestingly, Waymo’s initial launch in 2017 shared some similarities with Tesla’s current Robotaxi rollout. Waymo initiated an “early rider program” in Arizona, allowing a select group of individuals to test its service. Similar to Tesla’s current setup, Waymo’s vehicles also had safety drivers, and passengers were required to sign non-disclosure agreements temporarily.
Since late 2020, Waymo has been offering fully driverless paid services in Phoenix and has since expanded its operations to several U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The company currently operates over 1,500 Robotaxis on the roads.
