Research from the ride-hail aggregator Obi finds Waymo is starting to edge up on Uber and Lyft in San Francisco. Tesla, which operates a ride-hail service with human drivers, is winning the price wars. In San Francisco, people wanting to get from point A to point B have a few fairly unique options. Then, starting last fall, Bay Area denizens also got access to electric automaker Tesla's ride-hail service, which operates as a "robotaxi" in Texas but as a more traditional service, with drivers behind the wheel, in California. For months, the new and futuristic "robotaxi" services felt like a novelty .

Uber plans to deploy 20,000 robotaxis across U.S. and international markets over six years, with rides available exclusively through the Uber app.

The partnership between Uber, Lucid and Nuro plans to launch its robotaxi fleet in San Francisco later this year. Waymo is getting a good look at the competition as Uber revealed the design of its robotaxi that's due to launch in San Francisco later this year. The upcoming robotaxi is a result of a partnership announced in July between Uber, Lucid and Nuro. The plan is still to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid EVs that will use the Nuro Driver autonomous driving tech and be available through the Uber platform. It's important to note that the robotaxi reveal will be a production intent design, so there may be some modifications to the version that will eventually hit the streets.

Tesla shareholders sued Elon Musk and the electric vehicle maker for allegedly concealing the significant risk posed by company's self-driving vehicles. The proposed class-action suit, which accuses Musk and Tesla of securities fraud, was filed on Monday night. Tesla conducted its first public test of its self-driving taxis in late June near the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. That test showed the vehicles speeding, braking suddenly, driving over a curb, entering the wrong lane and dropping off passengers in the middle of multilane roads. The National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA), the main transportation regulator in the US, is investigating the Robotaxi's pilot test.

Elon Musk's latest business venture just rolled out an updated service map that has all of social media convinced he's trolling his critics with a juvenile image. Over the weekend, Musk's electric car company Tesla unveiled the expanded area where Robotaxi will be operating in Austin, Texas. Robotaxi launched in June in a small, geofenced portion of the city, meaning the self-driving cars could not operate anywhere else. It's not Robotaxi's expansion that's raising eyebrows, but the oddly shaped coverage zone, which many on social media insist resembles a phallus. Musk himself posted an enlarged image of the new Robotaxi map on X Monday morning with no comment. While Tesla CEO wouldn't say this phallic-shaped map was done intentionally as a joke, his followers on X quickly pounced on the alleged prank.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has refused one of Tesla's initial attempts to trademark the term "Robotaxi" because it believes the name is generic and already in use by other companies, according to a filing spotted by TechCrunch. Tesla was hoping to trademark the term in connection to its planned self-driving car service, but now it'll have to reply with more evidence to change the office's mind. The main issue outlined in the USPTO decision is that "Robotaxi" is "merely descriptive," as in its an already commonly used term. A robotaxi typically refers to the self-driving cars used in services like Waymo. As long as Silicon Valley has believed money could be made selling autonomous vehicles (and the rides you can take in them), the term has been in use.

A company is closer to putting self-driving robotaxis on the highway. Ever wonder when you'll actually see self-driving robotaxis on the highway? Well, Motional is getting closer. Its IONIQ 5 robotaxi just nailed high-speed tests, cruising at 75 mph. This is a big deal for its goal of making transportation safer and easier for everyone.

Elon Musk officially unveiled more futuristic Tesla devices last week, but it seems not everyone is thrilled. Australian-Egyptian filmmaker Alex Proyas has accused the billionaire tech boss of poaching his ideas from his 2004 film'I, Robot'. On X (Twitter), Proyas posted photos of futuristic tech from'I, Robot' next to three remarkably-similar Tesla products – Optimus, Robovan and Robotaxi. Proyas also included the message: 'Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?' Robovan and Robotaxi were unveiled on Thursday at a Tesla event dubbed'We Robot' – a blatant reference to the film. Alex Proyas posted photos from his 2004 film'I, Robot' (left) next to Tesla's remarkably similar designs (right) Tesla's Optimus has a striking resemblance to Sonny, the fictional robot protagonist from the movie, starring Will Smith (pictured) Set in Chicago in 2035, 'I, Robot' depicts intelligent robots filling public service positions in a dystopian world.

Elon Musk hosted a Hollywood event Thursday night to unveil Tesla's long-rumored Robotaxi - but it was the company's bartending Optimus that stole the show. Standing behind a small bar, the nearly six-foot-tall humanoid donned a cowboy hat, bowtie and suspenders as it poured beverages for wide-eyed attendees. Optimus grabbed clear, blue glasses and pulled on the tap to serve cocktails, but with the help of a nearby human operator. People marveled at the innovation, specifically that Optimus'did not ask for a 25 percent tip on an iPad,' while others called it nothing more than a'well-designed puppet.' Elon Musk hosted an event Thursday night to unveil Tesla's new Robotaxi, but a bartending Optimus robot stole the show The event'We, Robot,' held in Los Angeles, showcased Tesla's driverless Robotaxi, a futuristic autonomous car without steering wheel, pedals, or rear window.

At Tesla's We, Robot event at Warner Bros. Discovery's studio in California, the company finally unveiled its robotaxi. The car is expected to go into production before 2027, but even Musk caveated that, saying he was "highly optimistic with timeframes." The Cybercab doesn't have a steering wheel and, according to Elon Musk (so pinch of salt!), could be very cheap to run. The Tesla boss said the operating cost of the robotaxi would be 20 cents a mile, 30 to 40 cents with taxes. He also confirmed people can buy one and that Tesla expects to sell the Cybercab for below 30,000.