Waymo Robotaxis Crash at Airport, Sparking Multiple Tesla Debates

The United States' leading robotaxi operator, Waymo, saw two of its vehicles crash into one another at an airport.

According to video shared by @thetumbleweedX on X, two Waymo cars got into an accident in the parking lot of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday.

One of the driverless vehicles knocked its front-left driver's side into the front passenger door of another autonomous vehicle, the video shows.

A message on the screen inside the cars read, "Our team is aware of the interruption to your ride." It doesn't appear that anyone was inside the vehicles when the accident occurred.

The video immediately sparked a few debates.

Tech reporter Sawyer Merritt thinks that the accident isn't getting as much attention from the media as it would if it involved Elon Musk's Tesla robotaxis, with Merritt citing bias.

"Today, a Waymo car crashed into another Waymo, but the media hasn't covered it at all," Merritt wrote. "I've seen no articles. If this were two Tesla Robotaxis, it would be all over the news. "Negative headlines against Tesla generate clicks. Ones about Waymo don’t as much, so most of the media doesn’t bother to write about it.

"Is this crash the end of the world? Absolutely not. But the media would certainly paint it that way if it were Tesla Robotaxis," Merritt added.

Another raging debate going on is the difference between the technology used in Waymo's and Tesla's robotaxis, and which one is better for safety.

Many believe Waymo's multi-sensor approach (LiDAR, radar and camera) is better, while Tesla fans think its vision-based system using cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) is better.

"MORE Lidar equipment could have prevented this," one person joked. "Glad no one was injured."

"Lol. LiDAR broke? Among all of the cars available for them to crash, they picked each other to crash into. Good LiDAR technology," another person said.

Ford CEO Jim Farley has previously stated he believes Waymo's approach is better than Tesla's because "where the camera will be completely blinded, the LiDAR system will see exactly what's in front of you."

“When you have a brand like Ford, when there’s a new technology, you have to be really careful. We really believe that LiDAR is mission critical," Farley added.

With Tesla's robotaxi service only having launched in Austin, Texas in June, it's too early to tell if their system is better than Waymo's. But this recent crash will only bolster Tesla's case. 

Related: Elon Musk Announces Expansion of Tesla Service



source https://www.mensjournal.com/news/waymo-robotaxis-crash-airport-tesla-debates

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