Tesla Rolls Out Robotaxi Software To Consumers in FSD V14
Plus, Waymo starts DoorDashing, eyes London launch
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Tesla has begun rolling out its long-awaited Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 update
The update incorporates lessons from Tesla’s robotaxi program in Austin and San Francisco, and brings several long-requested features to consumer vehicles. Among them are improved navigation around blocked roads, enhanced handling of unprotected turns and lane changes, better detection of debris, and a new system for pulling over for emergency vehicles. Drivers can also choose arrival options like parking in a garage, at the curb, or in a driveway, mimicking the Robotaxi experience. These choices are persisted across trips. For example, if you choose to pull into your driveway when you reach home, that choice will be applied every time you navigate home.
FSD v14 also updates the speed profile system to take into account a mix of the driver’s profile, current speed limit, and surrounding traffic. It also introduces a new conservative “Sloth” mode, and even adds an automatic front camera self-cleaning feature for improved reliability. All these new features seem to be downstream improvements and additions stemming from Tesla’s Robotaxi program. CEO Elon Musk says this release represents a significant leap in the company’s supervised autonomy efforts, promising also that Tesla cars operating in The Boring Company tunnels will operate driverlessly in “a month or two” with this new version of FSD.
Waymo starts Doordashing in Phoenix.
The partnership will see the use of Waymo’s autonomous Jaguar SUVs to handle select DoorDash orders, starting with deliveries from DashMart convenience and grocery stores before expanding to restaurants and retailers. Customers matched with a Waymo vehicle will receive instructions in the app to unlock the trunk and collect their orders. It’s one of several autonomous initiatives DoorDash is testing in Phoenix, joining the company’s recently announced, in-house developed autonomous Dot bot we covered a few weeks ago, as well as the company’s other autonomous delivery programs like its partnership with other delivery robot companies Starship, Coco, and autonomous delivery drone company Wing.
Waymo has partnered with delivery companies before, including Uber Eats, but this marks its first integration directly into DoorDash’s network. As with other driverless deliveries, it remains to be seen how customers will respond to a car that can’t ring the doorbell. During DoorDash’s Dot launch, it called the last 10 feet to a customer’s door “non-negotiable”, and in most cases, Waymo vehicles are not able to drive right up to customers’ doors. Both companies, however, see it as an early step toward large-scale robotic logistics. Waymo had previously dabbled in delivery and logistics itself with its long haul trucking program, Waymo Via, which was eventually terminated to prioritize its robotaxi business.
In other Waymo news, the company, hot on Wayve’s heels, has set its sights on London. This marks Waymo’s first international expansion, as the company plans to launch a fully driverless ride-hailing service in the UK capital once the country’s new automated vehicle regulations take effect. Waymo will begin supervised testing in the coming weeks with safety drivers collecting data around central London before transitioning to a commercial rollout through the Waymo One app next year. Fleet operations and maintenance will be handled by Moove, the same company that manages Waymo’s U.S. fleets in Phoenix, Austin, and Miami, and the same one that also plans to purchase its own fleet of Waymo vehicles to operate itself.
The move positions Waymo ahead of the UK’s broader driverless timeline, with government-backed trials not expected until spring 2026 and full legal approval coming in late 2027. The company has been quietly building a presence in the region, hiring engineers in London and Oxford to support simulation and system development. It also recently shipped vehicles to Tokyo for testing as part of its push into Asia, although no consumer service has been announced for Tokyo as of yet. When Waymo’s service launches, it will face competition from homegrown startup Wayve, which is also testing autonomous cars with Uber in London.
MOIA has officially begun testing autonomous shuttles in Berlin.
The initiative, run jointly by Berlin’s public transport operator BVG and Volkswagen’s mobility subsidiary MOIA, marks one of Germany’s most advanced public transport autonomy trials to date. The first ID. Buzz AD vans are now operating in northwest Berlin with safety drivers on board, gathering data ahead of passenger service expected to begin in early 2026. The project is backed by €9.5 million ($11 million) in federal funding and will initially cover a 15 square kilometer (5.79 square mile) area across Spandau, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, and Reinickendorf.
Each ID. Buzz AD uses Mobileye’s 27 sensor, level 4 self-driving technology for self driving. During the trial phase, rides will be free and bookable on demand through an app. If successful, BVG and MOIA plan to scale the service into a permanent autonomous network after 2027, potentially expanding to larger fleets that could transform Berlin’s public transport system.
This seems to be the first time Mobileye technology has been deployed at scale in a publicly available service. The company has previously run tests in various cities across the world and has future robotaxi commitments with companies such as Lyft and Marubeni, but none of the commitments have launched publicly as of yet. It will be interesting to see how Mobileye’s technology performs in the real world with real customers.
Stellantis is partnering with Pony AI to bring autonomous robotaxis to Europe.
The two companies have signed a preliminary, non-binding agreement to integrate Pony’s self-driving system into Stellantis’ electric van platform, starting with test vehicles based on the Peugeot e-Traveller. Trials will begin in Luxembourg, where Pony’s new European headquarters is located, before expanding to other cities across the continent in 2026. The collaboration aims to create a scalable, purpose-built fleet for future robotaxi operations using Stellantis’ production-ready EV architecture.
The partnership follows Pony’s recent deal with Uber to deploy autonomous services in markets including Europe and the Middle East. For Stellantis, the tie-up represents its first major step into autonomous mobility in Europe and a potential entry point into the growing robotaxi market. Pony, already listed on Nasdaq, is also pursuing a secondary listing in Hong Kong as it ramps up its international expansion. In fact, both Pony.ai and WeRide have just received the go-ahead from key Chinese securities regulars for said Hong Kong listing.
In Other News…
US probes Alphabet unit Waymo robotaxis over school bus safety.
Self-driving car companies Pony.ai and WeRide get the OK for Hong Kong listing
Alright, that’s it from me… until next week. If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with your friend, colleague, or boss. Thank you for reading; Sophia out!
Sophia, I was reading some archived issues of Ride_AI News and saw an item in your March 18, 2025 issue that pertained to Waymos getting parking tickets in San Francisco. Thinking that your posed question, ‘Is it time for Waymo to train its own street parking sign reading models?’ was way mo tongue-in-cheek than a serious inquiry, do you know if Waymos or other robotaxis ‘know’ where restricted parking areas are or even where regular parking spaces are? (We know from their honking days at the depot that they’re capable of parking in parking lot spaces...) Obviously (?) the speed limit while driving at any given time is communicated to them, could parking space data be similarly communicated?