Google’s (GOOGL) self-driving unit, Waymo, ended 2025 by widening the gap with rivals such as Tesla (TSLA) and Uber (UBER). Now, the company is expanding into its 11th U.S. city, Nashville, Tennessee.
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Trade TSLA with leverageOn Tuesday, the self-driving brand announced that it has begun to accept public rides for its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the city. This comes even as testing continues at the Nashville International Airport, where Waymo intends to “serve travelers there in the near future.”
Waymo Expands U.S. Footprint
The launch in Nashville marks further progress in Waymo’s efforts to make robotaxis commercial. According to ResearchAndMarkets, many companies consider 2026 a pivotal year for the large-scale launch of robotaxis.
Already, Waymo has significantly expanded its operations across several U.S. cities, boasting about half a million paid robotaxi trips each week across 10 American cities, including Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. This marks a massive turnaround from about 50,000 weekly rides in May 2024.
Waymo Presses Forward despite Challenges
Meanwhile, the latest rollout in Nashville comes despite Waymo coming under regulatory scrutiny due to suspected behavior of its vehicle in school environments. Last November, the brand was also forced to recall over 3,000 of its vehicles over a software problem following reports that one of Waymo’s self-driving vehicles refused to stop for a parked school bus in Atlanta, Georgia, as students were disembarking.
Nonetheless, Waymo has continued to emphasize the safety of its design, noting that it is better than that of human drivers. In February, the unit raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation to fund its global expansion.
Waymo has said it is laying the groundwork to expand its operations to more than 20 additional cities this year, including Tokyo and London.
Is Google Stock a Buy or Hold?
On Wall Street, analysts continue to hold a Strong Buy consensus rating on Alphabet’s shares. This breaks down into 25 Buys and five Holds issued by 30 analysts over the past three months.
In addition, the average GOOGL price target of $377.90 implies about 26% upside potential.
