Comparison · verified 2026-09-09
Every robotaxi in America, measured against New York
Ten programs, one question: which of them could actually be picking you up on Sixth Avenue, and what stands in the way. Scores blend technology fit with the rules New York and New Jersey are writing, East Coast footprint, fleet scale and regulatory exposure.
| Operator | Vehicle | Sensors | Autonomy | How you hail | Live metros | Fleet | Pricing | NY status | NY readiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waymo Alphabet (Google) Active | Jaguar I-Pace (5th-gen Driver) Zeekr-built Waymo Ojai (6th-gen) | Lidar + radar + cameras (multi-modal) | Fully driverless, public paid service L4 | Waymo app; Uber app in Austin & Atlanta; Lyft partnership (Nashville) | Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Orlando | ~4,000 vehicles ~500,000 paid rides / week | Dynamic. Early-2026 multi-city average ≈ $19.69 per trip vs UberX $17.47 and Lyft $15.47; wins on longer trips once tipping is counted. Standard UberX rates where booked via Uber. | Tested 8 Jaguar I-Paces with safety specialists in Manhattan & downtown Brooklyn, Aug 2025 – Mar 31 2026. NYC did not renew the permit. Publicly committed to 'working with the State Legislature'. | 82 |
| Zoox Amazon Active | Zoox purpose-built bidirectional 4-seat robotaxi (no steering wheel or pedals) | Lidar + radar + cameras + thermal | Fully driverless; public paid service in Las Vegas L4 | Zoox app | Las Vegas | Not disclosed; NHTSA exemption permits up to 2,500 vehicles / year Not disclosed (~1M riders lifetime) | Launched free; paid service from Aug 10, 2026 (Las Vegas). | No NY activity. Amazon's logistics footprint in the region is a plausible beachhead. | 52 |
| Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y) Tesla Active | Model Y (FSD Unsupervised) | Cameras only (Tesla Vision + FSD neural nets) | Unsupervised in 6 metros; safety-driver / employee-only in Bay Area L4 (geofenced) | Tesla Robotaxi app | Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Orlando | 375 Model Ys registered in Texas (Sept 2, 2026); active daily fleet estimated well below registered capacity Not disclosed | Approximately $3.00 base + $1.40/mile in Austin (community-tracked); typically undercuts UberX on short trips. | No NY testing application on record. FSD (Supervised) is legal in customer-owned cars in NY; unsupervised robotaxi service is not. | 42 |
| Nuro × Lucid × Uber Nuro (software), Lucid (vehicle), Uber (network) Preparing | Lucid Gravity SUV with Nuro Driver | Lidar + radar + cameras | Pre-launch; driverless target 2026 (Bay Area first) L4 (planned) | Uber app | — | Target 20,000+ over six years (Uber commitment) — | Expected at UberX-comparable rates via the Uber app. | None. Uber's NY market share makes this the most likely 'app you already have' route into NYC once legal. | 40 |
| Motional Hyundai Motor Group Limited | Hyundai IONIQ 5 robotaxi | Lidar + radar + cameras | Supervised pilot on Uber in Las Vegas; driverless targeted end of 2026 L4 (targeted) | Uber app | Las Vegas (supervised) | Not disclosed Not disclosed | UberX-comparable via Uber. | None. Boston roots and Hyundai's backing make it a candidate for Northeast pilots. | 33 |
| May Mobility Independent (Toyota-backed) Limited | Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS | Lidar + radar + cameras | Driverless in limited zones; mostly supervised L4 (limited) | Lyft app (Atlanta), Uber app (Arlington TX), own app | Atlanta, Arlington TX, Peachtree Corners GA, Ann Arbor | Small (dozens per city) Not disclosed | Platform rates via Uber / Lyft. | None. Its microtransit model is a plausible fit for outer-borough or suburban (Westchester / Long Island) pilots before Manhattan. | 30 |
| Tesla Cybercab Tesla Active | Cybercab — purpose-built 2-seater, no steering wheel or pedals, butterfly doors, inductive (wireless) charging, Starlink connectivity | Cameras only (Tesla Vision + FSD neural nets). No lidar, no radar. | Unsupervised, public paid service (Austin geofence) L4 (geofenced) | Tesla Robotaxi app | Austin | 45 Cybercabs registered in Texas at launch (Sept 2, 2026); production begun at Giga Texas Not disclosed | Undisclosed formula. Launch-week sample: same Austin trip cost $7.77 in a Cybercab vs $12.10 in a Model Y Robotaxi (~35% cheaper). Model Y Robotaxi formula had been ~$3.00 base + $1.40/mile. | No NY testing application on record. Blocked by NY's hand-on-wheel law AND, as a vehicle with no wheel or pedals, would need a federal FMVSS exemption before any state could allow it. | 28 |
| Avride Nebius (ex-Yandex) Active | Hyundai IONIQ 5 | Lidar + radar + cameras | Driverless on Uber in Dallas L4 | Uber app | Dallas | ~200 vehicles 100,000+ rides cumulative (Aug 2026) | UberX-comparable via Uber. | None. | 26 |
| Mobileye × Volkswagen (ID. Buzz AD) Mobileye (Intel) / Volkswagen ADMT Preparing | VW ID. Buzz AD | Lidar + radar + cameras (Mobileye Drive) | Pre-launch; supervised testing L4 (planned) | Uber app (Los Angeles, planned), Lyft (Dallas, planned) | — | Not disclosed — | Platform rates. | None. | 24 |
| Cruise (retired) General Motors Shut Down | Chevrolet Bolt AV Origin (cancelled) | Lidar + radar + cameras | Shut down December 2024 — | — | — | 0 0 | — | None. Included as the cautionary case NY legislators cite most. | 0 |
Scroll horizontally on smaller screens. Sources and scoring rubric on the methodology page. Something out of date? Tell us — corrections ship within 24 hours.
The three that matter
Waymo vs Cybercab vs Zoox, on New York's terms
Front-runner
Waymo
The only operator with NYC street experience, the lidar stack every proposed rule accepts, and ~4,000 vehicles to draw from. Its problem is purely political: TWU, the Taxi Workers Alliance and a mayor who owes them.
Full profile → Longest odds, biggest prize
Tesla Cybercab
Cheapest fares in the field on launch-week samples and unmatched brand pull — but no wheel, no pedals, no lidar. It needs a federal design exemption, a change in NY law, and for NJ not to ban camera-only systems.
Full profile → Dark horse
Zoox
Amazon money, the federal exemption Cybercab lacks, and a purpose-built four-seater that fits NYC's accessibility rules better than a two-seat coupe. Years behind Waymo on scale.
Full profile →