Waymo launches robotaxi service in Las Vegas, its 15th market

Waymo has begun opening its robotaxi service to the public in Las Vegas, just a few weeks after receiving final approval from Nevada transportation regulators. The Alphabet-owned company said Monday it is inviting public riders on a rolling basis, following the same playbook it has used to launch in 14 other cities.

The service is starting with “dozens” of Waymo’s new Ojai minivan robotaxis covering an area that includes the Strip south of Highway 589 and into Boulder Junction, according to a spokesperson; the fleet and service area will eventually scale. For now, members of the public need to request an invite and receive an access code — Waymo typically opens a new market to everyone within a month or two of launch.

Las Vegas is Waymo’s 15th market and follows a busy few weeks in which the company also began inviting public riders in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa, part of a broader push across the U.S. and Europe as Tesla, Zoox, and other rivals try to close its lead. Zoox already runs a commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas, and Tesla and Motional are also planning commercial launches there.

The Nevada Transportation Authority, which approved Waymo’s entry into Clark County, has authorized Waymo to run up to 1,000 autonomous vehicles in the county over the next year, Tesla up to 5,000, and Uber up to 1,000 operated through partnerships with Motional and Zoox — together, up to 7,000 robotaxis. It’s unlikely the three companies will actually hit those ceilings: Waymo’s total fleet today is more than 4,000 vehicles spread across more than a dozen cities. Tesla’s Cybercab chief engineer, Eric Early, told state regulators in August the company would be “extremely happy and satisfied” to reach 2,500 vehicles in the next year, “maybe a bit higher than that.”

Why it matters

Even short of their authorized ceilings, Waymo, Tesla, Zoox, and Uber’s combined permits could still saturate Las Vegas with robotaxis within a year, turning the city into an early test of how much competing autonomous-vehicle fleets a single market can absorb.