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April 28, 2025 · 6 min read

The Road Ahead: Driverless Taxis and a Global Race

techautonomous vehiclesgeopolitics
The Road Ahead: Driverless Taxis and a Global Race

Today we'll talk about

🚗🤖 Waymo Driverless Taxis: Now in 5+ cities offering over 100k weekly rides in the US

My take: Underrated company. They will be a leader in the driverless taxi market, especially now with the Uber partnership and Lidar getting cheaper.

🇺🇸🇨🇳 US-China Trade War Intensifies: Tariffs and Global Power at stake

My take: This might or might not continue — but China will keep playing the game. The US ends up backing off, and shifts focus to strengthen relations with new allies.

Fun Facts:

  • 40% of Americans have some sort of Medical Debt
  • The Minecraft Movie amassed a $313 Million opening weekend in theaters
  • There are 1,900 Billionaires in the US

Driverless Cars aren't coming.. they are already HERE. Kinda?

Hello, my name is Jose Meza, if you don't know me I am a Product Manager working with Phase One Ventures, a venture studio based out of Phoenix, Arizona. I was gone for a while, life kept me busy and learning, but you'll definitely be hearing from me more often now. I hope that your week has been a good one, I'll get straight into it.

The general perception is that driverless cars are still a thing of the future, but if you live in a city like Phoenix, AZ like myself, then you'll know — they are already here. They're called Waymo. Now, if you were to ask someone from a small town or city, they would probably think you're crazy. You know me — as a tech enthusiast I wanted to try it as soon as it was announced here.

My roommates at the time and I first tried it out back in February 2023, crazy to think it was 2 years ago! The cost? Only $9.34. No tip. The car pulled up right around the corner from the house, had my initials spinning in the top part of it, and as soon as I got near, the doors automatically opened. We got in and were greeted by the AI — "Welcome Jose 🤖" — in an Ex-Machina style voice. Two years and 20+ rides later, they gave me a "Trusted Tester" badge. I guess you can say I do trust it.

Waymo is ramping up fast. In Phoenix alone, it has a fleet of over 300 driverless cars, and across all its cities — Phoenix, San Francisco, LA, and now Austin — it's handling more than 100,000 rides per week. The company says its cars have racked up 40 million real-world miles.

To make an even bigger splash, Waymo teamed up with Uber for SXSW in Austin, letting Uber users experience driverless rides just like any regular trip. Meanwhile, Tesla is still promising its own fleet of robotaxis later this year — also in Austin. But it looks like Waymo wanted to get there first. And so far, they have.

Okay but are they safe? Why would you trust that?

That's the first two questions everyone asks. While there have been quite a few "Waymo incidents" and traffic jams, the number of accidents that have actually happened is relatively low. Between 2021 and 2024, Waymo is required by law to report any incident to the NHTSA, and it logged just under 700. Worth noting that a lot of them are due to external factors and other drivers, but none were major. On another note, many women have shown interest in Waymo as a safer alternative for commuting, especially late at night — no need to worry about who's behind the wheel.

After a study conducted on 7+ million driven miles, it was reported that Waymo actually drove "better" and safer than the average American driver in several major cities. The study found:

  • 85% reduction (6.8× lower) crash rates involving any injury
  • 57% reduction (2.3× lower) police-reported crash rates

So far Waymo has the upper hand by going to market quicker, but do not sleep on Tesla — their FSD has collectively driven over 3 billion supervised miles worldwide. Once Tesla goes to market with their fleet, it could all shift.

The US against… the world, or shall we say China?

2025 is off to a wild start. You've probably seen the headlines: programs cut, agencies gutted, policies flipped upside down. But amid all the noise, one word keeps popping up — the one that's got politicians, lobbyists, and markets buzzing: tariffs.

You've heard it next to Trump's name over and over again. And if you're anything like me, you're probably half-confused and fully tired of hearing it.

This isn't just about tariffs — it's about trying to make sense of what's happening in the world, and with this administration in particular.

So what are we watching here? A wildly mismanaged economic plan? A new kind of insider trading cloaked in presidential power? Or maybe some early move in a larger, more calculated global power play?

Honestly, it's hard to say. In just the past couple of weeks we've seen trillions of dollars wiped from the markets, trillions come back, record-breaking movement in 401(k) accounts, and some of the largest hedge fund sell-offs in over two decades. Then, barely 2 days later — Trump says "PAUSE" — hold off on the tariffs except the ones on China — and the market shoots back up.

Wild, right?

Now, the next 70-something days are going to be telling. A huge chunk of the market is sitting at 1-year lows, some even at 5-year lows. The US dollar is at a 3-year low. And yet, when you look closer, most of these stocks are still considered "overpriced" relative to company earnings. Meanwhile Bitcoin is close to the $100K mark again.

So it makes you wonder: if stocks are still overpriced even now, when things are supposedly tanking... have they been overpriced this whole time?

My Takes

Driverless cars aren't just coming — they're here. And we'll start seeing them in more major cities soon. Waymo isn't driving on the I-10 just yet, but that's in the plans for later this year. Once they nail highway routes and start hitting faster arrival times, scaling to new markets will be a lot easier — especially with Uber now in the mix.

Meanwhile, Tesla might take a different route altogether. It could go really well and open the door for others — or it could face major roadblocks. Politically, the landscape is shifting fast. The NHTSA — the agency that oversees these vehicles — is already digging into millions of Teslas for potential recalls. And that same agency just took a hit from DOGE's job cuts. That tension will be one to watch in the coming months.

While 2025 has had a shaky start, it's safe to say the volatility isn't going anywhere. So strap in. Stay informed, stay calm, and help others where you can. We're living through historic, once-in-a-lifetime moments — especially as the fear of a recession creeps up (JPMorgan puts it around 60% now).

My take? Waymo is underrated and will lead the driverless taxi space — with help, at least for the next year. The US and China will keep battling it out over trade, and China still has the ability to keep devaluing the Yuan as part of its long game. But if this continues unchecked, we risk crossing a line — from economic warfare to something far more serious. Let's not forget Taiwan sits right next door, and China isn't shy about its intentions if it feels the time is right.

🇺🇸🏥 40% of Americans have Medical Debt — As of 2024, 41% of adults in the US said they have health care debt for themselves or family members. Medical debt is one of the largest causes of bankruptcy, with 65% of individuals who declare bankruptcy citing medical bills as the main cause.