Waymo touts lidar edge over Tesla's camera‑only robotaxi strategy

Waymo co‑CEO Dmitri Dolgov argued that the company's multi‑sensor suite—combining radar, lidar and cameras—offers higher safety and reliability than Tesla's camera‑only robotaxi approach. He cited a test in a Phoenix dust storm where lidar identified a pedestrian that cameras missed, and noted Waymo's 220 million rider‑only miles versus Tesla's roughly 380 000 driverless miles. Regulators and industry experts have generally favored the multi‑sensor model.

At the same time, Waymo is scaling its robotaxi service, opening public rides in Dallas and planning a commercial launch in London by year‑end. Other firms such as Zoox, Tesla and Uber/Wayve are also expanding services, but safety experts warn that rapid scaling will surface new edge‑case challenges.