Robotaxis are no longer a concept. They are operating today, carrying passengers and already delivering a real transportation service. The challenge now is scaling autonomous mobility solutions across Europe.

This was one of the key takeaways from beti’s field study in the San Francisco Bay Area, presented during a new edition of Movin’On Insights at the Hôtel de l’Industrie in Paris.

7 days on site. 12 organizations visited. 22 meetings held. 160 km traveled in robotaxis.
Waymo, Nuro, Tesla and Zoox: four companies, four approaches, and already a global competition emerging around service delivery, data ownership, operations and customer experience.

Several lessons stood out:

• Robotaxis are moving beyond technological demonstrations and becoming customer-centric mobility services.
• The competitive advantage lies not only in automated driving itself, but also in the less visible layers: remote supervision, maintenance, cybersecurity, infrastructure, data management and fleet operations.
• The U.S. ecosystem is progressing rapidly thanks to technological leadership, capital investment, data access and platform economics. Uber, for example, is confirming a global intermediary strategy.
• Europe still has opportunities to differentiate through service integration: seamless connections with public transport, cybersecurity, data sovereignty, safety oversight and fleet management.
• Scaling remains the critical challenge, requiring sustainable financing models, appropriate procurement frameworks, long-term partnerships and a clear role for Public Transport Authorities.