'Doomsday' for Online Drivers Spreads as This Region Becomes the Next Target

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The coverage area of driverless taxis (robotaxis) continues to expand, sending an increasingly negative signal for the future of the online driver profession.

One of the service providers, Waymo, has announced the launch of its service for the public in Las Vegas. Under the new service, Waymo will send out invitations to residents in the region, with the number of users to be increased gradually over time.

Waymo will deploy dozens of vehicles at the initial launch, with the fleet set to grow, according to Reuters on Tuesday (15/9/2026).

The vehicles used in Las Vegas are equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous driving system, and are built on a platform from Zeekr.

The expansion marks the Alphabet-owned company’s first step in the state of Nevada, while adding to the list of regions served in the United States.

Previously, Waymo has operated in California, Texas, Florida and Arizona. Going forward, the company plans to extend its reach to Denver, San Diego and Tampa.

Waymo is one of the key players in the nascent robotaxi market, competing with rivals such as Zoox (owned by Amazon) and Tesla.

Waymo’s valuation reached US$126 billion (around Rp2,228 trillion) in February, after the Alphabet subsidiary successfully raised funding of US$16 billion (around Rp282.8 trillion).