The race to build the future of autonomous vehicles is heating up, but safety remains the biggest challenge. Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana believes that robotaxi companies must do more to prove the safety of their technology before expanding operations.
During a recent interview, Mawakana emphasized the need for transparency in the autonomous vehicle industry. She questioned which companies are truly making roads safer, pointing out that many do not share enough data about how their fleets are performing.
Waymo, on the other hand, has released safety data showing its vehicles are five times safer than human drivers and twelve times safer when it comes to pedestrian safety. Mawakana highlighted that these results stem from years of testing, learning, and prioritizing public trust over speed of deployment.
While she didn’t directly name competitors, Mawakana’s comments come at a time when companies like Tesla, Zoox, May Mobility, and Pony AI are advancing their robotaxi projects. However, most are still in early testing or limited deployment phases — and many have yet to share transparent safety reports.
According to Mawakana, companies that remove drivers and replace them with remote operators have a responsibility to disclose real-world safety data. Without that openness, she says, they cannot claim to make roads safer.
Waymo’s stance sends a clear message to the growing autonomous vehicle sector: safety must come before scale. As competition intensifies, the companies that prioritize transparency and public confidence will likely lead the way in shaping the future of driverless mobility.
